ICC rate Bengaluru pitch 'below average'

Match referee Javagal Srinath said the surface, which was used for the second Test between India and Sri Lanka, didn’t offer “an even contest between bat and ball”

The pitch in Bengaluru, which was used for the second Test between India and Sri Lanka, has been rated 'below average' by the ICC.

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

As a result, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has received on demerit point.

Demerit points remain active for a rolling five-year period, with venues that accumulate five or more demerit points suspended from hosting international cricket for a 12-month period.

^{Rawalpindi, which hosted the first Test between Pakistan and Australia, has also received a demerit point in recent weeks [Aamir Qureshi/Getty Images]}

India cruised to a 238-run victory against Sri Lanka inside three days, bowling their visitors out for 109 and 208, respectively. Dimuth Karunaratne (107) and Kusal Mendis (54) were the only Sri Lanka batters to find any joy on the surface while India’s Shreyas Iyer, who scored twin half-centuries, was critical of the pitch after the match, labelling it "not that great".

Bengaluru is the second venue to receive a demerit point in the past fortnight. Rawalpindi, which hosted the first Test between Pakistan and Australia, was heavily criticised after 1,187 runs were scored and just 14 wickets taken across the five days.

Questions have also been raised about the pitches used in the Caribbean during the first two matches of England's three-Test series against West Indies. Both surfaces, in Antigua and Barbados, have offered little to the bowlers, and the series is poised to head into the final match with the score at 0-0. 

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