SA vs IND 2018: Shaun Pollock, Sunil Gavaskar Criticize Wanderers Pitch

Unlike the first two Tests, the ongoing third Test has failed to provide an even contest between the bat and the ball. In Cape Town and Centurion, the batsmen and the bowlers were equally involved in the game, but the Johannesburg pitch has failed to ensure such an even contest.

In fact, the wicket has been so tough that as many as 16 players failed to cross the double-digit mark with the bat in the first innings with Hashim Amla’s 61 being the top-score, as twenty-one wickets have fallen on the first two days. Such has been the toughness of the wicket that Amla admitted batsmen are not able to settle on the Wanderers’ pitch and could get dismissed on any ball.

“It’s quite a spicy wicket. No one can hide from the fact that you can get out every ball. By the same token, it’s challenging as a batsman. Sometimes we get onto wickets that are pretty flat, and you can score lots of runs. It is just quite difficult to bat, whether it’s too excessive or not if you ask a batsman what do you think they will say?” Amla said after the second day’s play.

The Wanderers pitch has also been criticised by former Test greats Shaun Pollock and Sunil Gavaskar who are a part of the commentary panel for the ongoing series.

“If you’ve got deliveries behaving like this on day two of a Test match it can’t be judged a good surface,” Shaun Pollock said during the tea break on day two.

The uneven contest between bat and ball has made many compare the Wanderers track with that of Nagpur’s which favoured spinners in 2015 on which South Africa played. The pitch was later rated poor by the ICC.

Pollock also compared the Wanderers track to the Nagpur pitch and argued that the surface for the ongoing Test can’t be called a suitable surface.

“You go to India and get a surface like Nagpur where it turned too much. This can’t be judged a good surface because as a batsman you are never in,” said the legendary bowler.

On the other hand, Gavaskar said the pitch is heavily favouring the bowlers.

“You can get a very flat surface which is totally in favour of batsmen. This is a pitch which is totally in favour of bowlers,” he said.

Meanwhile, India finished day two on 49 for 1 with their overall lead extended to 42.

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