India vs Australia 2018: Aakash Chopra, Mitchell Johnson engage in a war of words over ‘average’ Perth pitch

Just a few days after India’s heavy 146-run defeat against Australia at the new Optus Stadium in Perth, ICC has come up with the lowest possible rating for the pitch. Reports suggest that match referee Ranjan Madugalle has rated the pitch, that held its inaugural Test match earlier this week, as ‘average’. However, former Australian bowler Mitchell Johson was left unimpressed with the rating, while former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra differed in opinion with the Aussie resulting in a war of words on Twitter.

ICC has come up with a new disciplinary system at the start of 2018 where pitches are rated – very good, good, average, below average and poor – after every Test match in a bid to increase the standard of pitches. While the Adelaide Oval, the venue for the first Test between India and Australia was rated ‘very good’ by ICC, the new Perth pitch was rated ‘average’. Unimpressed with the rating, Johson said, “Nothing wrong with it. It was exciting to watch a contest between bat and ball for a change and not these dull flat tracks being served up constantly. I’d actually be interested in knowing what a good pitch is? Hope for another exciting test at the MCG.”

Johnson was then notified by a fan about the pitch’s inconsistent bounce to which he replied, “Inconsistent bounce use to happen a lot, the pitch is supposed to deteriorate. Is it any different to a pitch that spins a metre or more & stays low?”

Replying to Johnson’s question, Aakash quickly reminded the Aussie about Marcus Harris’ wicket by Hanuma Vihari in the first innings. The delivery saw the ball springing up to Harris’ surprise before being caught behind.

And with that started off the war of words over the average rated Perth pitch. Here’s the conversation…

Madugalle had earlier rated the MCG pitch as ‘poor’ following the Boxing Day Test match between Australia and England last year which had ended as a draw. In fact, two of the last four Boxing Day matches had ended in a no result. MCG curator Matt Page has a task cut out ahead of the third Test. And Aussie pacer Peter Siddle reckons that this time the pitch will produce some result.
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