Published 15:21 IST, February 6th 2021
India vs England: Fans predict dull draw, Chennai curator under fire for lifeless pitch
India vs England: Netizens urged the BCCI to make pitches that are conducive to Test cricket and has something in it for both batsmen and bowlers.
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The first India vs England Test got underway on Friday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Having won the toss, Joe Root decided to bat first on a wicket that looked like a batsman's paradise. As expected, the pitch had nothing for the pacers in it whereas spinners also hardly got any assistance on Day 1 of Ind vs Eng 1st Test.
Fans slam Chennai pitch curator, wants BCCI to make sporting wickets
It was anticipated that as the game progressed, the pitch would start helping the bowlers, however, Day 2 of the Ind vs Eng 1st Test wasn't any different as bowlers received no help from the pitch. England batsmen were batting with utmost ease while India bowlers were toiling hard to grab wickets.
Twitterati was left fuming with Chennai's lifeless pitch that didn't assist the Indian bowlers in any way. Several reactions poured in as fans slammed the pitch curator and urged the BCCI to make pitches that are conducive to Test cricket and has something in it for both batsmen and bowlers. A certain section of fans also predicted the game to end in a dull draw. Here's what netizens had to say about the batsmen friendly Chennai pitch.
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We can expect 2 dead test matches back to back, thanks for Chennai Pitch. 🥲
— संकल्प Dubey (@sdSankalp26) February 6, 2021
Chennai pitch curator is the new Dasrath manjhi of India ! Both have made flat pitches @StarSportsIndia @BCCI #askstar
— khitish ray (@khitishray) February 6, 2021
Pitch looks flatter than #Chennai International Airport runway.. Good job curator. He deserves a post in Chennai PWD ✌✌✌#INDvsENG #INDvENG #Chepauk pic.twitter.com/IackTaSsSv
— Apple Jack 🍎 (@Doc_Tweets_) February 6, 2021
BCCI should go for drop-in pitches
— DC Gaurav 💙✌🏼 (@CrikSpy) February 6, 2021
in CHENNAI , DELHI , NAGPUR
ASAP@BCCI @JayShah @SGanguly99 @StarSportsIndia @vikramsathaye@vikrantgupta73#INDvsENG
Whosoever conceived this idea of 2 back to back test matches at Chennai is definitely a visionary. They knew that ‘this pitch’ will deteriorate only of day 5 of 2nd test match. 😊
— Shankar Rajagopalan Narayanan (@thayir_saaadhum) February 6, 2021
How bizarre! Forget Australia. Even Sri Lanka n Pakistan, traditionally known for dead, flat tracks have provided such sporting pitches in the tests. And here we have a dead pitch in Chennai. Kills test cricket#INDvENG#INDvsENG@cricketwallah @sanjaymanjrekar
— Ambika (@apmahapatra) February 6, 2021
These pitches make for boring cricket. Chennai has a reputation for these flat pitches, judging by 2016 and the next match is here as well! Good exciting cricket is played on pitches that give both bat and ball a chance.
— Sumesh Kumar (@sumeshkumar2011) February 6, 2021
@BCCI
— Nikhith@1 (@Nikhith110) February 6, 2021
test cricket heart is beating strong with good pitches and exciting test series..with Chennai test u just killed the people or youth who just wanted to watch the good cricket...
This is reason why test cricket is boring
Notably, the pitch curator for the first India vs England Test, V Ramesh Kumar is a businessman by profession who runs two successful apparel companies: Cosimo International, a garment manufacturing company that exports to firms in Europe, and Allwin Colours, a dyeing company. However, Kumar's love for the game made him learn the art of pitch-curating and he has been doing it for some years now.
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Ahead of the match, Ramesh had said that they are working to get a sporting wicket. Speaking in detail about India vs England pitch report, Ramesh stated that it will be a typical Chepauk pitch but with English look. Ramesh further said that it will work for all three departments and will be a keen contest between bat and ball. He opined that on the first day, there will be something for the fast bowlers and on the second and third days, the pitch will favour the batsmen. He also said that from the fourth day onwards, there will be wear and tear and the pitch will be conducive for the spinners. However, if the way England batsmen have played is anything to go by, the Chennai pitch has been everything but a sporting wicket.
SOURCE: BCCI.TV
15:21 IST, February 6th 2021