New Delhi: It was not an ideal debut by any means for the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium at Pune. The 22-yards, which turned to be a rank turner, came in for heavy criticism from Day 1. If that was not enough, the Indian side suffered an insulting 333 run defeat to the visiting Australian side. But the curator Panduram Salgaonkar is not the sole one to blamed. In fact, Salgaonkar believes it is the BCCI’s fault that the pitch turned out the way it did.
The former Maharashtra fast bowler had just two words to say after being questioned about the nature of the pitch, “Ask Daljit”. Daljit Singh is the chairman of the ground and pitches committee of the BCCI.
Salgaonkar’s comments were a clear indication that the pitch was probably tinkered at the very last moment, that too against his will.
Salgaonkar had boasted that the Test match will last full 5 days. But the match ended inside 3 days with rookie spinner Steve O’Keefe running through the Indian batting line up.
The Indian camp asking for favorable pitches is nothing new but the Virat Kohli-led side has shown dominance against sides like New Zealand and England on ‘fair’ pitches. Therefore, Salgaonkar’s comments raises questions on the need of spin-friendly pitches.
India will take on Australia in the second Test match at Bengaluru starting from March 4 and no wonder, all eyes will be on the 22-yards of the Chinnaswamy stadium.