Indian cricket news: Bengaluru pitch gets "below average" rating from ICC

The recent Indian cricket news states that ICC match referee Javagal Srinath rated the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru "below average" on Sunday. It was the same pitch where India flamboyantly defeated Sri Lanka in the second Test match within the 3rd day. A total of 16 wickets fell down on the very first day of the 5-day match.

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Javagal Srinath found post-match that the clash was off-balance since the start. He said, "The pitch offered a lot of turn on the first day itself. Though it improved with every session, in my view, it was not an even contest between bat and ball."

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According to ICC rules and regulations, below-average pitches get demerit points. These points remain active for 5 straight years. If any stadium hoards 5 points then it gets suspended from hosting international matches for a year. Hence, ICC has penalized Bengaluru and gave 1 demerit point to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

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Chinnaswamy is the second stadium after Pindi Cricket Stadium, Pakistan to be rated "below average" in 2 weeks. That pitch hosted the first Test p Pakistan vs Australia. The match referee Ranjan Madugalle rated the pitch "below average" after the clash resulted in 1,187 runs with the loss of only 14 wickets in 5 days.