IND vs AUS: Aakash Chopra's takes indirect dig on 4th Test pitch; shares cryptic post

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has taken an indirect dig at the Ahmedabad pitch, which is being used in the ongoing fourth Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Chopra has described the pitch conditions as "extreme" and has said that one extreme should never be a reason or excuse to justify another extreme, referring to the surface used in Indore for the 3rd Test match. The Indore pitch has been rated "poor" by the ICC, which said that it did not provide a balance between bat and ball. 

Chopra took to his official Twitter handle on Friday to criticise the Ahmedabad pitch after Australian players easily batted their way through to 480 runs in the first innings. Ravichandran Ashwin picked up six wickets in the innings but not as easily as he did in the first three Tests. Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green scored a century each with another four batsmen scoring more than 30 runs to their names. The surface looks absolutely gold to bat on as displayed by players from both teams. Shubman Gill also scored a century on Day 3 of the match. 

One extreme should never be a reason/excuse to justify another extreme. #pitches #BGT

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 10, 2023

India vs Australia, 4th Test

As far as the 4th Test match is concerned, Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat first at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Team India made one change to its playing XI as captain Rohit Sharma brought in Mohammed Shami in place of Mohammad Siraj. Australia lost just four wickets on Day 1. Usman Khawaja led Australia's batting from the front as he scored a century before Stumps on Day 1. Cameron Green remained unbeaten at 49 off 64 balls. 

Australia surpassed the 400-run mark on Day 2 of the match. Usman Khawaja led the Australian batting from the front as he scored 180 off 422 balls before being dismissed by Axar Patel. Cameron Green also contributed with a century, his maiden in red-ball cricket for Australia. Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy then added 70 runs toward the end of their innings before the latter was dismissed by Ashwin for 41 off 61 balls.  

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill opened the batting for India and scored 36 runs between them before stumps on Day 2. Rohit was dismissed for 35 runs on Day 3 but Gill went on to score a magnificent century. Gill was dismissed by Nathan Lyon for 128 off 235 balls in the final session on Day 3. Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are currently batting in the middle. 

Image: BCCI