India is taking on New Zealand in the first semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This game will decide which team will qualify for the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The game started at 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon, but there was some controversy ahead of the game.
Some media reports claimed the BCCI intentionally changed the pitch that was supposed to be used for the first semi-final between India and New Zealand. Some media reports confirmed that the pitch that was likely to be used earlier was a fresh pitch, but now the game is being played on the used pitch.
Reports also claimed that it was done to give more assistance to the spinners. It ignited controversy, and everyone started talking about it. This news also reached the Australian camp, and even Pat Cummins has commented on it.
In the pre-match conference ahead of the second semi-final, Cummins said that he has full faith in the ICC, and they have their own pitch curators that take a look at the crease before taking it into play. Australia will face South Africa in the second semi-final on Thursday at Eden Gardens.
Cummins said, “Yeah, I saw that (the report)… obviously ICC has an independent pitch curator who manages that, so I’m sure they are all over making sure it’s fair for both teams.” He also said that so far, everything has been pretty good in the tournament related to the pitch conditions.
According to the reports, it has also been learned that the pitch to be used for the final game at the Narendra Modi Stadium will also be on the slower side, which will help the spinners more. Notably, the ICC’s Playing Condition for the World Cup suggests that the decision of selection and preparation of the pitch for knockout games depends on the host association, and there is a rule that knockout matches should be played on a fresh surface.
