Australia won the third test match of Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023 at Indore by nine wickets, India now has a lead of 2-1 against the visitors. Aussies have qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final after avoiding a clean sweep in the four-match series. All three test matches were over on Day 3 from Nagpur to Delhi and now Indore.
Saba Karim now has made a huge remark after team India lost in the third test match of BGT, he said the home side prepared the rank turner’s pitch to just qualify for the WTC Final.
Former Indian cricketers criticise the quality of pitches used in the ongoing BGT series-
“Australia have Steve Smith and India have Virat Kohli, arguably the top two batters in world cricket. But we haven’t gotten to see their batting in this series. What are we trying to prove by making such wickets?”
“In our desperation to qualify for the WTC final, we have lost the spirit of Test cricket. We have No.1 and No.2 teams competing here. It would have been a joy to watch them play if the contest was between all aspects of Test cricket,” said cricketer cum commentator.
The Third test of BGT was at Holkar Cricket Stadium, the pitch of the stadium has been the talk among fans for its uneven bounce from the very first session. The Indore match saw 14 wickets getting lost on the Day 1 of the game with the ball keeping low from the initial 10 overs.
“These are very bad signs for Test cricket, what is the point of playing Test matches on such pitches? I think all the cricket boards and the ICC must do something about this because otherwise, all teams will prepare pitches according to their strengths at home for World Test Championship matches,” the 55-year-old added.
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Earlier, the third test match of BGT was scheduled to happen in Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh). But later it was shifted to Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, as BCCI stated that the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium’s ground is unfit for the match on 1st March 2023.
“We’ll see Australia leave around 5 mm of grass, and the match will be over in one and a half days. In India too, the matches will get over early because of the wickets,” concluded Karim.
On day 3 of the Indore Test, the visitors needed 76 runs to win the game, after India was bowled out for 163 runs in the second innings on day 2. India now has the 2-1 lead in the four-test match series, and the home side needs to win the last game to qualify for the WTC Final in England.