The pitch at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai for the New Zealand-Bangladesh game surprised many including the commentators and fans as it witnessed extravagant bounce, which is new. Since Chennai is known for preparing turners and surface grips and stays low and slow, it was interesting to see spongy bounce in the Tamil Nadu capital in Match No.11 of the ICC Cricket World Cup. However, something like this was predicted by former Pakistan skipper Mohammad Hafeez as he alleged foul play in how the pitches were being prepared.
Speaking on PTV Sports a day before the game, Hafeez had said that if the surface at Chennai is different than what we saw at the India-Australia game, it will be doubtful as to who is organising the tournament - ICC or BCCI? "Firstly, tomorrow it will be proved whether the tournament is being organized by the ICC or the BCCI. Till now, there are three venues where two matches have been played – Hyderabad, Delhi, and Dharamsala. The pitch conditions were similar and it behaved similarly in both games. If the pitch is the same in Chennai, which was used for India vs Australia, then it’s understandable. But if there are slight changes, you will know who is organizing the tournament,” said Hafeez.
“There should not be any influence, it’s an ICC tournament. It has to run as per its curators and instructions. If tomorrow's pitch’s behaviour is similar, it plays the same, then it’s understandable. But if there’s a slight change like if it’s a batting track or different conditions, this is a big question mark and that’s my statement,” Hafeez added.
To which, former India opener Aakash Chopra came up with a fitting response saying, "Brother, the square at Chennai (and at many other stadia in India) have pitches made with different soil now. Red-Black and mixed. As you’d know…pitches made with different soil component will play differently. Therefore, don’t be surprised if the pitches behave radically different at the same venue throughout the World Cup."
Like for example, Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium has 11 pitches, of which five are of black soil and five are of red, thus all of them will not behave the same way.
