Ravi Shastri taunts Wankhede pitch curator for 'flat' track

Ravi Shastri had a verbal spat with the MCA curator Sudhir Naik

Team director Ravi Shastri expressed displeasure over the flat nature of track at the Wankhede stadium, after India's 214-run defeat in the final match of the One-Day International (ODI) series against South Africa on Sunday.

The Indian team management was displeased, over the pitch prepared by the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) ground staff for the deciding fifth and final ODI of the series. The visitors who won the toss and opted to bat first made 438 runs and went on beat India to clinch the series 3-2.

Apparently, Ravi Shastri had a verbal spat with the curator Sudhir Naik. He taunted the curator, over the nature of wicket that was prepared for Sunday's match. “Great wicket,” followed by an expletive, is what he is alleged to have said, though this cannot be confirmed yet.

The flat track prepared by the MCA curators was not helping either the spinners or the fast bowlers of the Indian camp who bowled first. The team management wanted the pitch to give some help to the spinners, which has been the host’s ticket to victory in the tournament so far, but the absolutely flat deck prepared for the game, with the series hanging in balance 2-2, upset their calculations.

"They wanted the track to be a bit loose, but the suggestion was rejected and a 350-run track was asked to be prepared," said the source to PTI, pleading anonymity.

An agitated Naik, who had asked Shastri to not question his ability to prepare wickets, took up the issue with MCA officials including Vice President Dilip Vengsarkar. Taking offense to Shastri's remark, Naik intends to pursue the issue further with the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) by filing an official complaint.

South Africa winning the toss changed the whole equation of the match. They chose to bat first in hot conditions and piled up a ginormous score of 438 for four with three batsmen – Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and skipper AB de Villiers cracking blistering centuries each.

In response, India were bundled for 224 to hand over the series to South Africa, their first bilateral ODI series win on Indian soil in five attempts.

India captain MS Dhoni was equally miffed with the track as he felt that the wicket was "too true" to offer any assistance to their bowlers. "Our fast bowlers could not get much from the pitch with their bouncers, neither the spinners were getting the turn. We know the Wankhede wicket. Nothing went right for our bowlers," Dhoni expressed in the post-match meeting.