The ICC has given the Jamtha Stadium in Nagpur an official warning under the ICC Pitch Monitoring Process following the third Test between India and South Africa.

The sanction took into consideration the fact that there had been no concerns about the performance of the pitch after any of the other international matches played at this venue.

In reaching the verdict, the ICC agreed with the ‘poor’ rating given to the pitch by Jeff Crowe, the match referee for the Nagpur Test played from 25-27 November, who observed that the pitch did not allow a fair contest between bat and the ball.

The finding was made by ICC General Manager – Cricket, Geoff Allardice, and ICC chief match referee, Ranjan Madugalle, after watching footage of the match, reviewing the post-match reports from Crowe, and considering the response provided by the BCCI.

The BCCI’s official response to Crowe’s rating is not known, but board officials have been vocal in support of the pitch, pointing to what they felt were ‘inconsistencies’ in the match referee’s report, and contending that ‘excessive turn’ – one of Crowe’s criticisms of the pitch – was ‘subjective’.

Of the 40 wickets that fell during the Test, which lasted just under three days, 33 went to spinners. No batsman from either side made a half-century.