India beat England by 10 wickets on Thursday to take a 2-1 lead in the four-match Test series. With the match getting over in two days, several questions regarding the condition of the pitch are being raised. 

According to the International Cricket Council (ICC) Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, “A poor pitch is one that does not allow an even contest between bat and ball either by favouring the batters too much, and not giving the bowlers (seam and spin) from either team sufficient opportunity to take wickets, or by favouring the bowlers too much (seam or spin), and not giving the batters from either team the opportunity to make runs.”

A total of 30 wickets fell in the third Test with spinners taking 28 of them. ICC rules state that the venue would receive three ‘demerit’ points. But the governing body has clarified that a condition of the pitch and the ground rating will not impact the World Test Championship points table. This means that India will not lose any points even if the pitch is deemed ‘poor’. 

While the ICC’s rule says that a pitch favouring a either seamer spin bowlers counts as ‘poor’, there are some exceptions for pitches in the subcontinent. 

Its says, “It is acceptable for a pitch to offer some degree of turn on the first day of a match, particularly in the sub-continent. though anything more than occasional unevenness of bounce at this stage of the match is not acceptable. It is to be expected that a pitch will turn steadily more as a match progresses, and it is recognised that a greater degree of unevenness of bounce may develop.”

A pitch has not been rated poor since 2018, when the pitch during The Wanderers Test between India and South Africa was rated poor due to ‘excessively steep and unpredictable bounce‚ and excessive seam movement,” reported Wisden. The match was abandoned in the third evening.

According to Wisden, a venue receives three demerit points when the pitch is rated poor while five demerit points in a period of five years will result in the venue getting banned from hosting international cricket for a year.