Generally in test match cricket, the number one side will play for pride but at the same time will not lose its prestige by playing on a pathetic pitch to achieve its home objective. For the second time in the series, the match referee has given his opinion in the match report that the Bengaluru pitch was well below average. This is after the adverse report filed about the Pune pitch. Now it is very clear that we can rest assure that the team bank on below par wicket and that appears ridiculous at the International level. We blame DRS and question Australian captain Steve Smith but at the same time we play spoilsport with the strip in which matches are played and blame the opposition on trivial issues relating to the game. ICC should seriously think and punish the unsportive act and penalise the home teams if they lay a trap repeatedly in the hope of winning all the time. This is not a good advertisement for Test match cricket as already the academic interest is dwindling in the recent past with three day games giving limited entertainment to spectators.
Abhi Rama
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
