India vs England: Monty Panesar makes a controversial statement

India vs England Test series has been getting interesting due to the on-field performances of both teams. In the 3rd Test at Motera, the Indian team won the match easily by 10 wickets. The spinners, Axar Patel and Ashwin picked the bulk of the wickets and put a dent on the England batsmen. They were unable to cope up with the brilliance of both the spinners and were bundled out for 112 and 81 in the first and second innings respectively. In the first innings, the Indian team got a lead of 33 runs due to the good contribution from the opener Rohit Sharma. The England team management had sought to formally lodge a complaint regarding the pitch at Motera.

The former players like Vaughan and Steve Waugh were of the view that the test match should not be finished in 2 days, and the pitch needs to be favour all the departments to have a healthy competition between both the teams. While Kevin Pietersen said that the England players could not bat well in both the innings.

ICC should Dock India’s points- Monty Panesar

The former England spinner Monty Panesar lashed out heavily on the pitch used in the 3rd test. Panesar demanded that if the pitch remains the same, the ICC should dock WTC points of the Indian team. Panesar said, “I think if the next Test match is the same, then yes, the ICC should dock points. Everyone is delighted that cricket has now got the biggest stadium in the world now. At least the curator should have produced a good wicket, even if it’s a turning wicket, everyone was complaining about Chennai, this was even worse.”

“If you are going to produce a turning wicket, at least the match should go for 3-3.5 days. India will probably produce a turning pitch, at least it should last for three days. The Indian people are saying England batsmen cannot play spin very well, if you take that into account, Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen have scored runs here, Cook has got a record as good as Matthew Hayden in India. Pietersen did score quickly, do England have that? No, they do not,” he added.

What are the changes expected for the 4th Test?

The Motera pitch is said to be prepared for a high-scoring match. BCCI has intervened in the criticism of the pitch used in the 3rd test which hugely favoured the spinners. After India is up 2-1 in the test series, the governing body may avoid sanctions by the ICC in the final test match.

“Expect a good hard surface which will be firm and even bounce. It will be a batting beauty and since it’s a traditional red-ball match, one can expect a very high-scoring contest here from March 4-8,” a senior BCCI official privy to the developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

The England team may include Dominic Bess in the Playing XI, and the Indian team might play the 4th test with an unchanged Playing XI.

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