Remember when England were bundled out a mere 81 runs in the second innings of the Ahmedabad Test in 2021?
While English media reported heavily that India can't win a home Test if it wouldn't be a rank turner, former England captain Michael Vaughan made a mockery of India's pitch by posting a picture of dug-up land. The India vs England test match ended with 842 balls being bowled. Meanwhile, in 651 balls, 30 wickets fell during the second Test between India and South Africa.
Check India vs South Africa 2nd test full scorecard here
Check India vs South Africa 2nd test full scorecard here
With India needing 79 runs to level the series, the Cape Town Test could become the shortest match completed in the 21st century if India chased down the target inside 190 deliveries (32 overs)
But none of the English, Australian or Proteas media reported on the CapeTown wicket, given that 23 wickets fell in a single day.
However, India's legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar lambasted on SENA media for not calling out the CapeTown wicket. Though Gavaskar said there is no issue with the Newlands wicket, but complained about SENA media bias over the turning pitches.
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Speaking to the broadcasters Star Sports, Gavaskar said: "This is what test cricket is all about. You are going to be tested. And I honestly believe I've always believed that if you cannot play on pitches where the ball turns into the batter, you know, there is a tendency amongst the SENA country's media, particularly if you think that you know, if you can't play on fast, bouncy pitches, you're not a batter."
Gavaskar also commented on Indian media, saying, "they should talk about the bouncy, pacy and turning tracks."
"So that's you know what? I think, sadly, you know, our media should be actually writing about this. You know, our media should be talking about the fact that you know, but our media is so dependent sometimes not all the time on getting interviews with players, so they do not want to upset anybody. So they will not question the batting ability of some of the overseas guys because of that. But that's the way," said Gavaskar.
Least balls bowled to decide the winner in Test cricket
- 1932 Australia vs South Africa, Melbourne (656 balls bowled)
- 1935 West Indies vs England, Bridgetown (672 balls bowled)
- 1888 England vs Australia, Lord's (792 balls bowled)
- 1888 England vs Australia, Manchester (788 balls bowled)
- 1889 South Africa vs England, Cape Town (796 balls bowled)
- 1912 England vs South Africa, The Oval (815 balls bowled)
- 2021- India vs England Ahmedabad (842 balls)
- 1946 Australia vs New Zealand, Wellington (872 balls bowled)
- 2000 South Africa vs England, Centurion (883 balls bowled)
- 2002 Australia vs Pakistan, Sharjah (893 balls bowled)