Apex Board releases pitch ratings for final of ODI World Cup 2023

Apex board has released the pitch ratings for the final of the ODI World Cup 2023. The International Cricket Board rated the pitch in Ahmedabad as 'Average'. The match was played at the Narendra Modi Stadium between India and Australia in front of a packed house. There has been criticism of the pitch since the final happened. The International Cricket Board has given its opinion on the same.

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The outfield for the match was rated as 'very good' by the board. The ratings were provided after being headed by the former Zimbabwe batter Andy Pycroft. In the match, India ended with a score of 240 runs, after struggling to score runs in the middle. With the ball becoming softer, it seemed like scoring runs was not easy on the wicket. Australian bowlers used it to their advantage and bowled very well.

Interestingly, India was able to score only 2 boundaries in the middle-overs phase of the match. KL Rahul scored only one boundary in his stay in the middle. However, no such difficulty was found in the Australian innings, which was filled with good performances from Travis Head, who scored 137 runs in 120 balls. It seemed like the wicket got better in the second innings.

Apex Board rates wickets of semifinal matches

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Apart from the wicket for the final, the Apex Cricket Council rated the semifinal 2 wicket between South Africa and Australia. The wicket in Eden Gardens received 'Average' ratings as well. South Africa was able to score only 212 runs in their innings. Australia chased down the target with 3 wickets. It seemed like the wicket was not easy to bat on. 

The match referee, Javagal Srinath, rated Eden Gardens as a 'Very good' wicket. The apex board rated the wicket at Wankhede stadium for the first semifinal as 'Good'. The match between India and New Zealand in Mumbai saw more than 700 runs being scored. India scored 397 runs on the board in the first innings. Chasing it, New Zealand scored more than 320 runs.