Bengaluru pitch rated as below average

Dubai: Match referee Javagal Srinath has rated the pitch at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru that was used for the second Test between India and Sri Lanka as "below average".

The venue has thus received one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process. The final Test between India and Sri Lanka saw 16 wickets falling on the opening day and the islanders getting thrashed inside three days in Bengaluru.

"The pitch offered a lot of turn on the first day itself and though it improved with every session, in my view, it was not an even contest between bat and ball," Srinath said in a statement.

Srinath's report has been forwarded to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

In the revised ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, which was introduced on January 4, 2018, if a pitch or outfield is rated as being substandard, that venue will be allocated a number of demerit points.

"One demerit point will be awarded to venues whose pitches are rated by the match referees as below average, while three and five demerit points will be awarded to venues whose pitches are marked as poor and unfit, respectively.

"No demerit point will be awarded when the outfield is rated as below average, but two and five demerit points will be awarded to venues whose outfields are marked as poor and unfit, respectively," the ICC said.

Demerit points will remain active for a rolling five-year period.

"When a venue accumulates five demerit points (or crosses that threshold), it will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for a period of 12 months, while a venue will be suspended from staging any international cricket for 24 months when it reaches the threshold of 10 demerit points," it added.

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