[Sport] India v England: Was the Ahmedabad pitch that bad?

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At a time when Nasa has successfully landed its Perseverance rover on Mars, England might be thinking they would be better off playing India on the red planet.

If the tourists are saying little about the Ahmedabad pitch on which they were given a third-Test hiding, that has not stopped plenty of others from discussing its suitability for international cricket.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan said it was "awful" and ex-skipper Alastair Cook said the Test was "tough to watch".

Is the criticism fair, or just pointless spin?

What's all the fuss about?
Not only was it thrilling, compelling and, at times, downright bizarre, the third Test was also incredibly unusual.

Of the 2,412 Tests ever played, only 22 have finished inside two days and half of those were before World War Two, when pitches could be pretty moody. This was the shortest completed Test since 1936.

Twenty-eight of the 30 wickets fell to spin, which is a high ratio even for Asia, where spinners have taken roughly three for every two by pace bowlers since 2010.

Just two batsmen - England's Zak Crawley and India's Rohit Sharma - managed a half-century and only Rohit survived more than 100 deliveries across the entire match.

While it is fair to say these numbers are not solely down to the pitch - captains Joe Root and Virat Kohli admitted the batting from both teams wasn't up to scratch - the pitch certainly played a big part.

Former England spinner Phil Tufnell said the pitch had "taken the skill away from the players", with ex-captain Andrew Strauss going further, describing it as a "lottery".

There is perhaps no other sport where the strip of turf on which it is played affects the outcome as much as cricket.

Accusations of impropriety can be incendiary and trenchant views can often follow national lines.

Was the pitch in Ahmedabad a bad one? That depends on what you consider to be 'good'.

'Two-day Tests? This is not what Test cricket should be'
Was the pitch really that bad?
The debate surrounding the strip in Ahmedabad comes hot on the heels of the attention attracted by the pitch for the second Test in Chennai, which behaved similarly, if not to the same extent. It is also worth noting India managed more than 600 runs in that match.

Traditionally a 'good' Test pitch would be one that is seen to offer an even contest between bat and ball, with encouragement for bowlers of all kinds at various stages of the match.

However, a 'good' pitch does not have exclusivity when it comes to producing exciting Test cricket. Part of the challenge and attraction of the longest form of the game is the variety of conditions, with succeeding away from home in alien surroundings one of the great achievements.

There is also nothing untoward with teams, within reason, exploiting home advantage. India have found themselves on the wrong end of conditions in England in the past and probably will again at some point during their trip to the UK later this year.

The problem comes when conditions are pushed to an extreme, with batsmen or certain bowlers having such an advantage that the integrity of the contest is compromised.

Was that line crossed in Ahmedabad?

There were certainly times when it seemed like the spinners only had to roll their arm over and a wicket would follow. Without being disrespectful to Root's off-spin, the England skipper picking up five wickets for eight runs in 38 deliveries would suggest there was too much assistance for the slow bowlers.

Yet England were 74-2 in the first innings. India were 98-2 in their first and made 49-0 in their second to seal victory.

Scoring runs was a challenge, but perhaps made to look more difficult by the errors of the batsmen.