Aakash Chopra questions WTC final's pitch after 28 wickets fall on first two days
Aakash Chopra wondered how the Western media would have reacted had 28 wickets fallen on the first two days of a Test match in India.
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The World Test Championship (WTC 2025) final is being played at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground in London this week. Australia and South Africa are battling it out in the quest to lift the coveted WTC mace.
The all-important clash has been moving at a rapid rate, as 14 wickets have fallen on each of the first two days. The batters haven't been able to account for the prodigious lateral movement that has been available to the fast bowlers who have been on a rampage so far.
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra said that the Western media would have slammed the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) had 28 wickets fallen on the first two days of a Test match in India. The cricketer-turned-expert mentioned that as the WTC final is taking place in England, the pitch is being described as "sporting".
“A big question I had about this Lord’s Test match was that if these 28 wickets had fallen in India in two days’ play, wouldn’t the western media have created an uproar, as to what sort of pitch they play, the ball is turning and bouncing, batting has become very difficult, and how such pitches can be allowed, that India is doctoring pitches and killing Test cricket," Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel, as quoted by Sportskeeda.
“You would have seen these headlines from The Telegraph to The Sydney Morning Herald, and you would have felt what you have done. However, when it happens in England, it’s called a sporting pitch, that the batters’ defensive technique has gotten spoiled as the ball is not moving that much. If the batters’ defensive technique has gotten spoiled, it’s valid in India as well," he added.
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South Africa need 281 runs to win WTC 2025 Final
Australia were bowled out in the first session on Day 3 for 207. The defending champions have set South Africa a target of 281. Only two successful run-chases of 280-plus have been pulled off at Lord's so far. 342 by the West Indies in 1984 and 282 by England in 2004.
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