Bengaluru pitch rated 'below average'

More bad news has emerged for India’s curators as it’s understood ICC match referee Chris Broad has rated the pitch for the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium as 'below average'.

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Broad’s assessment of the Bengaluru pitch follows the ‘poor’ rating the former England batsman gave the surface in the series opener in Pune, which spun violently from ball one and saw 40 wickets fall inside nine sessions.

A BCCI official was quoted as saying that the ‘poor’ rating was "harsh" and that spinning wickets are looked upon negatively while seaming wickets are often blamed on batter’s techniques and not the pitch.

The Bengaluru wicket bore large cracks right from day one that only opened wider as the Test went on.

Several deliveries that hit the cracks and kept low, resulting in a number of bowled and lbw dismissals, in particular the wickets of Ravi Ashwin and Steve Smith in each side’s second innings that practically rolled after landing.

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As explained in the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, released in October 2010, after each match, the match referee must complete a Pitch and Outfield Report Form which in turn places the pitch in one of the following categories: very good, good, above average, below average, poor or unfit.

The criteria for a ‘below average’ pitch reads: Either very little carry and/or bounce and/or more than occasional seam movement, or occasional variable (but not excessive or dangerous) bounce and/or occasional variable carry. If a pitch demonstrates these features, then the pitch cannot be rated in a higher category regardless of the amount of turn the pitch displays at any stage of the match.

However, there was some good news from the second Test, as the M Chinnaswamy Stadium outfield is believed to have received a ‘very good’ rating by Broad.

With the third Test set to begin on Thursday in Ranchi at the JSCA Stadium, a venue hosting its first ever Test, the scrutiny of the debut pitch will no doubt intensify over the coming days and throughout the match.

JSCA secretary Debashis Chakraborty hopes the Ranchi pitch lasts the full five days but India coach Anil Kumble is more concerned about the outcome.

"We only hope we will win,” Kumble said. "How many days the Test will last I wouldn’t know.

"But I only hope there will be a result and it will be in our favour."

Test Squads

India (for third and fourth Tests): Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund.

Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade

Australia's schedule in India

Feb 23-27, First Test, Pune - Australia won by 333 runs.

Mar 4-8, Second Test, Bengaluru - India won by 75 runs.

Mar 16-20, Third Test, Ranchi

Mar 25-29, Fourth Test, Dharamsala