India vs England 4th Test is about to start and the discussion is still revolving around the woes of the Ahmedabad pitch which was used for the third Test match. The third Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium ended in just two days; it was the quickest Test win in 54 years. Many players voiced in their opinions on the debate. Some were in deep criticism of the pitch while some said that the English batting needed to be better.
Ex-players like Gambhir, Vaughan, Akhtar, Boycott, etc gave their opinions in the discussion. For the first time, Inzamam Ul Haq has come out openly to speak about the pitch used during the Ahmedabad Test. He was speaking on his own You Tube channel. The Pakistani legend took some time to digest the fact that the match got over in just couple of days of cricket. "No one could have thought, and neither can I remember when the last time a Test match was over in two days. Did India play that well or was it the behaviour of the wicket? Should such wickets be part of Test matches? I thought India were playing some brilliant cricket. They beat Australia earlier and made a brilliant comeback in the second Test, but preparing such a wicket, I feel is not the right thing to do with cricket," Inzamam said.
Watch the video here:
He urged the ICC to take some action against the Ahmedabad pitch. He said: "Even scorecards in T20 matches read better than the one we saw in Ahmedabad. The ICC should take action on this. What sort of wickets are these that a Test match cannot even last two entire days? 17 wickets falling in less than one day… what are we playing on here? Sure, you take home advantage, spinning tracks should be made, but this sort of pitch I don't think should exist." Then the ex-cricketer also gave the example of an old series where India were not able to chase a score of 131 in 1997. Even then, the pitch was criticized.
Inzamam’s criticism didn’t end there. He also said, “If Joe Root is picking up five wickets in six overs, you can imagine the condition of the wicket. Why should I praise R Ashwin and Axar Patel, when Root is picking up 5/8? Test matches have so many important elements, the venue, the ground, the umpire, referee, so a pitch should also hold some significance. Test match should look like a Test match. Don't think India would have derived the same satisfaction from this win as they did after beating Australia."
3 March also happens to be the birthday of the Pakistani legend. We relive this innings of Inzi on his birthday:
Happy birthday Inzamam Ul Haq!