‘The pitch was not up to test standard’ – Mark Waugh lays into Indore pitch after dramatic first day

Mark Waugh. (Photo by Scott Barbour – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images)

The opening day of the third Test between Australia and India in Indore saw a total of 14 wickets fall on a rank turner. While Australia are in a commanding position after the end of the day’s play, former Australian batter Mark Waugh did not hold back in his assessment of the pitch.

Rohit Sharma led the Indian team and batted first in the contest after winning the toss and were lucky not to lose their skipper in the very first over of the match. However, the introduction of spin turned the tide for the tourists as Matthew Kuhnemann sent the Indian openers packing in successive overs.

But it was Cheteshwar Pujara’s dismissal by Nathan Lyon’s sharp turning delivery that made the viewers question the nature of the surface. Mark Waugh felt the pitch was not good enough for a Test match as the ball was turning square from the first session of the game.

“It was mayhem. The pitch was not up to test standard, I think that’s a fair thing to say. Balls going through the top (layer) in the first 20 minutes of a test match, that’s not good enough,” Mark Waugh told Fox Sports.

They’ve probably learnt some lessons from those first two Test matches: Waugh

After bundling out the home side for a paltry 109 runs on the board, the Australians made a solid start to their reply despite losing Travis Head cheaply. Usman Khawaja’s well-compiled half-century in tough batting conditions propelled Australia to a strong position before the visitors lost three quick wickets.

Waugh praised the batting efforts of his compatriots, who trusted their defence and played with a straight bat instead of trying funky sweep shots which led to their demise in the Delhi Test.

“They’ve played very straight, they’ve hardly played a sweep shot. Good, smart batting as they’ve probably learnt some lessons from those first two Test matches,” Waugh added.

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