IND vs SA: Newlands, Cape Town Pitch For India vs South Africa 2nd Test Rated "Unsatisfactory"

On Tuesday, January 9, the International Cricket Council (ICC) gave an official verdict on the Newlands, Cape Town pitch that was the host of the second Test of the two-match series between India National Cricket Team and South Africa National Cricket Team.

The Rohit Sharma & Co. locked horns with Dean Elgar-led South Africa in the second Test in Cape Town, which began on January 3. India were 0-1 down in the series having lost the first in Centurion and they needed to pull off a stunning victory to avoid the whitewash and yet another series defeat against the Proteas in the Rainbow Nation.

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first in the match. The decision proved to be awfully wrong as the star pacer Mohammed Siraj ran through the Proteas batting unit. He looked unplayable in the first innings and registered sensational bowling figures of 9-3-15-6. Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar also bagged two wickets as India managed to bowl out the opposition for 55.

Batting in their first innings, India stars Virat Kohli (46) Rohit Sharma (39) and Shubman Gill (36) played well, however, the side faced a horrible batting collapse and went from 153/4 to 153/10 in no time.

When the Indian pacers came to bowl next, they once again dominated, thanks to Jasprit Bumrah, and made the South African batters look clueless. However, they weren’t able to stop the carnage of Aiden Markram, who hit a stupendous 106 runs to help his team post 176 runs on the board.

India were given a target of 79 runs to chase and they achieved it comprehensively to register a 7-wicket win and level the series 1-1.

The pitch in Newlands was very difficult to bat on – Chris Broad on India vs South Africa 2nd Test

The pitch at the Newlands, Cape Town came under heavy scrutiny as it provided too much support to the pacers. The game lasted just 107 overs and became the shortest Test ever to produce a result.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has come down hard on the Newlands, Cape Town pitch and has rated it “unsatisfactory”. The decision has been made under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

ICC Match Referee Chris Broad submitted his report and stated that the pitch was very difficult for the batters and there was an awkward bounce on the surface.

“The pitch in Newlands was very difficult to bat on,” Broad said, aa quoted by ICC. “The ball bounced quickly and sometimes alarmingly throughout the match, making it difficult to play shots. Several batters were hit on the gloves and many wickets also fell due to the awkward bounce.”

Notably, the ICC hands demerit points to pitches that are rated as substandard. One demerit point is given to venues whose pitches and outfields are rated as unsatisfactory. If a venue reaches six demerit points, it is suspended by the ICC from hosting any international cricket for 12 months. Also, these points remain active for a rolling five-year period.

Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the Cricket South Africa (CSA) 14 days to appeal against the sanction imposed on the Newlands, Cape Town pitch.