lawrence booth

International Cricket Council: India captain Rohit Sharma described the track at the Wankhede Stadium for the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand as a "good pitch", thereby ignoring the controversy raised by the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper that the choice of wicket for the match was changed at the last minute to suit India.

All Sharma would say was that the surface was "a little on the slower side", adding, "whatever we do, we have to do it well".

It was suggested in the Mail story that a previously used pitch would bring India’s spinners into the fray. Theoretically, a fresh wicket might have been even-handed towards spinners and quicker bowlers alike. As it turned out, it was an easy-paced batting paradise when India batted after winning the toss.