'Utter s***e!' Michael Vaughan slams pitch as India beat England inside two days

Michael Vaughan described the pitch for the third Test between India and England as ‘garbage’ and ‘s***e’ after the hosts won inside two days.

England were bowled out for 112 in their first innings on day one and 82 in their second on day two, with 19 of their 20 wickets falling to spin.

Axar Patel, playing only his second Test, took 11 wickets in the match, while fellow spin Ravinchandran Ashwin claimed seven, passing 400 Test scalps in the process.

The spinners continued to dominate as India batted, with England captain and part-time bowler Joe Root claiming remarkable figures of 5-8 from 6.2 overs and Jack Leach taking four wickets to skittle the hosts out for 145.

Despite England’s fightback with the ball, India knocked off 49 in the final innings to clinch a dramatic victory and go 2-1 up in the four-match Test series.

Vaughan said: ‘I’m just putting this out there, this pitch for Test cricket is utter s***e, utter s***e. All these wickets on day two, it’s an absolute lottery. It’s an absolutely garbage Test match wicket.’

Tom Moody, the former Australia player and high-profile coach, and Sir Andrew Strauss, the former England captain also criticised the surface at the new Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.

‘Test cricket needs balance, whether that swings slightly towards the bat or ball, it should always offer a semblance of balance,’ Moody tweeted.

Strauss, meanwhile, told Channel 4: ‘Yesterday it felt like it was possible to score runs on this pitch if you had a good technique, today it feels like a lottery.’

More to follow…

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