‘Wickets falling is like greeting a long lost friend’ – Twitterati react on Rawalpindi pitch in opening Test between Australia and Pakistan

Barring a miracle, the opening Test between Pakistan and Australia at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is heading towards a draw. After the hosts declared their first innings at 476 for the loss of four wickets, the Aussies were bowled out for 459 runs. With around 90 overs left in the game, it’s nearly impossible to enforce a result from here on.

Earlier, former Aussie skipper Steve Smith came down hard on the nature of the strip in Rawalpindi. The 32-year-old termed the track ‘dead and benign’ and said that it had very little for the fast bowlers to work with. Smith said the pitch provided assistance to the spinners, but wasn’t a sporting one by any means.

Steve Smith shares his opinions

“It’s pretty benign. There’s not a great deal of pace and bounce in it for the seamers. I think the spinners have offered a little bit. When you hit the right length, there’s been a little bit of natural variation and you know, when you get it out a bit wider into the rough I think there’s a little bit there as well. But yeah, pretty benign, dead wicket,” Smith was quoted as saying.

Smith scored 78 runs off 196 balls with the help of eight fours before Nauman Ali dismissed him. Mohammad Rizwan took a sharp catch behind the wicket to end Smith’s stay in the middle.

Nauman, meanwhile, went on to get a six-wicket haul. Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne also scored in the 90s. David Warner also scored a well-made half-century.

For Pakistan, Imam-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali made hay. Former skipper Azhar top-scored for them with 185 runs from 361 balls. Imam, on the other hand, laid the platform with a 157-run knock while opening the batting for the hosts.

In the meantime, the fans are pretty disappointed with the character of the deck in Rawalpindi. The netizens reckoned that a better surface should have been dished out for the match. The people expressed their agony and disappointment on Twitter.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to the nature of the Rawalpindi pitch in the Australia vs Pakistan Test

Melinda Farrell reacted with disbelief, and perhaps even nostalgia…

Wickets falling. It's like greeting a long lost friend. #PAKvAUS

— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) March 8, 2022

Wasim Jaffer, true to form, raised another valid point.

I find it amusing when Test matches get over inside 4 days yet teams lose WTC points for overrate. The biggest threat to test cricket is not overrate. Tests rarely go to day 5 anyway nowadays. The biggest threat to test cricket are dead pitches. Dead pitch = Dead game. #PAKvAUS

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) March 7, 2022

Another user pointed out the hypocrisy of pitch criticism in the sub-continent.

Are there any tweets out yet from experts criticizing the Rawalpindi's lifeless pitch?

Or are these criticisms reserved for Indian decks, where at least both sides get a chance at results! #CricketTwitter #PAKvAUS #WTC23

— Rajeesh Nair 🇮🇳 (@iRajeeshNair) March 8, 2022

Someone else felt that the Pakistan’s slow batting was also a contribution to the general boredom…

Poor pitches and Pakistani batters did rest of the job with slow batting #PAKvAUS

— Roy (@Roy_a27) March 8, 2022

Nauman Ali’s 5-wicket haul was lauded as a feat achieved against the odds.

Five wickets for Nauman Ali!

That's a great effort on this pitch #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/1REBJgWPrS

— Australia's Army 🇦🇺 (@TheAussiesArmy) March 8, 2022

Fifer on this flat pitch. Nouman Ali deserves all appreciation.#PAKvAUS

— Umair Khan (@Mairyvellous) March 8, 2022

Another user even suggested that the Rawalpindi pitch has better infrastructure than one of Melbourne’s streets.

The rawlpindi test #PAKvAUS is a better road than anything @VicRoads has produced. Case in point Melbourne Lancefield Rd. That's a disgrace and has been for 20yrs. But let's put 60km signs up as we can't fix it.

— Mick Palmer (@mickpalmer25) March 8, 2022

But overall, fans were resigned to the inevitable draw…

Absolutely right! Pitch has not pace! Looking forward to see Karachi pitch! #PAKvAUS https://t.co/GnBNd928sx

— Waqas Farid 🇵🇰 (@realWaqasFarid) March 8, 2022

The Aussie team toured Pakistan after 24 years. Preparing the Rawalpindi pitch, we've told them not to come back for another 50 years. #PAKvAUS #Dead #Benign

— SlingyArm (@SANfan194) March 8, 2022

What a shame that we took 13 wickets in one day on the pitches of Bangladesh but could not take 10 wickets in two days on our pitches.#PAKvAUS #AUSvPAK

— Farhan Khan (@BabarAzam0056) March 8, 2022