IND Vs SA: Aakash Chopra Lashes Out At Cape Town Pitch Curators After 23 Wickets Fall On Day 1

Former Indian batter and expert cricket analyst, Aakash Chopra went harsh on the Western media criticizing Indian pitches and South African curators for producing a track that saw 23 wickets fall across 3 innings on Day 1 of the 2nd Freedom Trophy test series here in the Newlands Cricket Ground.

After South Africa’s easy win in the 1st test by an innings and 32 runs, the 2nd test was poised for an even competition with the visitors trying to equalize the series after squandering the first test and all the hopes of winning a test series at the Rainbow Nation.

Rohit Sharma’s side was given a real chance to breach the Final Frontier this time around, owing to South Africa’s out-of-form and inexperienced side. However, the Proteas bowling line-up led by Kagiso Rabada was able to get the better of the Indian batters across both innings whereas Dean Elgar’s 185, David Bedingham, and Marco Jansen’s knocks complimented the bowling very well.

Ahead of the 2nd test, South Africa were regarded as the favorites to win but Elgar’s decision of choosing to bat first in a grassy Newlands track derailed their hopes as well as performance. Mohammed Siraj led by example to clinch career-best figures of 6/15 after 9 overs of hard work with Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar earning a brace each.

When India’s time came with the bat, Yashasvi Jaiswal became the first to depart for a duck before Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill followed suit after scoring 39 and 39. Shreyas Iyer got out for a duck while KL Rahul left after scoring 8. Virat Kohli was India’s best scorer with 46 whereas the remaining players, 5 of them returned with a duck to their names.

It is not officially the most number of ducks in a single innings and India have emulated the record which they created in 2014 during a test match against England in Manchester.

Aakash Chopra Says The Western Media Is Biased

As the pitch in Newlands favored bowlers, Aakash Chopra, who is known for his hot takes and opinions, asked if there would be questions and disapproval regarding the pitch because if something like this had happened in spin-friendly Indian tracks, the Western media would tear them into pieces.

He questioned those who do not fail to make comments when India plays test matches in favorable home conditions but are tight-lipped when South Africa too have done something similar.

“23 wickets fell in a day. South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first, but what sort of decision? India too wanted to bat first but they (South Africa) couldn’t score even 60 runs in the first innings and they are still behind. South Africa have lost 13 wickets and we also lost 10.” – Aakash Chopra said.

“Is the pitch bad? Should we talk about the pitch because no one does that? There is an outcry if the ball turns in India and 20 wickets fall in a day. The Western media says that India keep winning on doctored pitches but if the same thing happens in South Africa, will anyone say anything or will they be tight-lipped?” – Chopra added.

Aakash Chopra Claims Matches Should Not Be Played In Newlands

In another bold statement, Aakash Chopra said that the behavior of the Newlands pitch yesterday made it very difficult for the batters to play based on skills and they had to be more reliant on being lucky. He further claimed that Test cricket should not be played in such pitches where luck plays a much more important role than skills before giving his conclusion that it will be a 2-day test.

“Luck becomes very important. The pitch here is also looking similar. Luck is outshining skill. It’s not right to play on such pitches. The game should be based on skills and not luck-based. I see it as a two-day Test match. I will be very surprised if this match goes to the third day.” – Aakash Chopra concluded.