.jpg?type=hq)
Kevin Pietersen tweets about MCG pitch - (Source: AFP)
The Boxing Day Test match between Australia and England commenced on December 26 at the MCG. It was a special day for cricket fans as unusual scenes occurred on Day 1. Interestingly, Australia walked out to bat first and tumbled for just 152 runs on the board.
In reply, England failed to capitalise on the opportunity and collapsed for just 110 runs, giving a 42 runs lead to Australia. 20 wickets fell on day 1, and it sent the internet into a shockwave. The fans slammed both sides for failing to read the wicket, but the pundits had a different take.
Several former cricketers took to social media platforms to slam Australia for the difficult pitch. Former England star batter Kevin Pietersen is the latest to join the bandwagon and slammed MCG curators with an India reference.
“India ALWAYS gets hammered when wickets fall like crazy on day 1 of a Test, and so I hope that Australia gets the same scrutiny! Fair is fair,” tweeted Pietersen.
Alastair Cook slams the MCG pitch
Besides Kevin Pietersen, former England captain Alastair Cook too slammed the MCG pitch and remarked that it was not a great Test wicket.
“This is not a great Test wicket. Unless this flattens out on days two, three, and four, if we get there, then that was too heavily weighted in the bowlers’ favour. The bowlers did not have to work that hard for wickets," Cook said while speaking on TNT Sports.
Why did Kevin Pietersen made a reference to India in his rant for MCG pitch?
India majorly produces spin-friendly pitches, and there have been instances when 18-20 wickets have fallen on a single day. In such scenarios, the Western media has often criticised the Indian curators, citing the pitches as ‘poorly prepared strips’.
However, the same media turned out to be hypocrytical in nature when the green-tops prepared in SENA nations offer difficulty for the batters.
