Chittagong Pitch Receives One Demerit Points from ICC

David Boon, International Cricket Council’s (ICC) match referee has rated the Chittagong pitch as ‘below average’ after the run-fest in the opening Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

As a result, the surface has received one demerit points according to the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

The points will be active for five years, and if the pitch collects four more demerit points, the venue will get suspended from hosting international matches for 12 months.

The match saw Bangladesh post 513 in the first innings and piled up 307 in the second innings. While Sri Lanka posted 713 for nine in reply, the game saw five centuries and six half-centuries hit in the game.

The pitch drew criticism from several quarters after Sri Lankan batsman Dimuth Karunaratne stated it as not fit for Test cricket.

“The pitch provided no seam movement to the fast bowlers with the new ball and also lacked carry and bounce throughout the match,” Boon said in his report.

“The pitch did offer occasional slow turn for the spinners early on, but it did not deteriorate as much as would have been expected as the match progressed, resulting in a pitch that too heavily favoured the batsmen across the five days,” he added.

The second Test will start from February 8 at Dhaka.

Here is the newsfeed:

Asnodkar, Bowlers Help Goa Stun Tamil Nadu

Prithvi Shaw to Play Against Tamil Nadu