India roaring into the World Cup final leaves a ‘sour taste’ after they switched the pitch for the New Zealand clash

The cricket world reacted with disbelief after Mail Sport’s revelation that India had gone behind the ICC’s back to ensure the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai would take place on a used pitch.

The pre-tournament agreement with Andy Atkinson, the ICC’s veteran pitching consultant, was that the match would be played on a new surface – only India would insist on a pitch that had already been used twice.

In the end, they defeated New Zealand by 71 runs, with Virat Kohli setting a world record 50th one-day international century in front of an ecstatic crowd that included Sachin Tendulkar and David Beckham, and seven wickets for Mohammed Shami.

But the build-up to the game has been overshadowed by criticism of India’s role in a process that is supposed to be overseen by the ICC.

“It’s a bit of a sour taste,” said former England captain Michael Vaughan in Test Match Special. ‘It doesn’t bother me that a World Cup semi-final is played on a used field.

The build-up to the match was overshadowed after it was revealed that India had gone behind the ICC’s back to ensure their clash with New Zealand in Mumbai took place on a used pitch.

Michael Vaughan was among those who spoke out, saying it left a ‘sour taste’

‘I don’t think India had to do anything. They have played the best cricket by a country mile. They shouldn’t have interfered with what the surface should look like.’

Vaughan later added: “Let’s not avoid the truth: the ICC wants India in the final. They probably would have beaten New Zealand on every field… The rest of the world will say, “Really? Don’t make it so obvious.”

Anil Kumble, the respected former Indian spinner and head coach, told ESPNcricinfo that he had ‘no idea’ why the pitch had been changed so late.

“It’s very surprising,” he said. “All the broadcast equipment was set up for the (new) field and now it looks like they have been moved to the used surface.”

Meanwhile, Pakistani legend Wasim Akram tweeted, “This should be the last thing on the Indian cricket team’s mind. This is simply unnecessary.’

And on TMS, former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith said: ‘New Zealand have often preferred to bowl first, but at the toss it stood out that Kane Williamson said they would have batted first on a used throw. Emphasis on “used”.’

Writing in today’s Mail Sport, David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd went further. “Do you know what should have happened?” he asked. “The ICC should have stood up to India and said, ‘This new pitch is the pitch we play on and if you don’t like it, you can forfeit the game.'”

After the match, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports viewers that the controversy was fabricated by ‘idiot’.

David ‘Lloyd’ Bumble said India should have been asked to ‘give up’ if they didn’t like playing on the original pitch

Ex-Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar said controversy was engineered by ‘idiot’

The game’s governing body issued a statement confirming our story, but offered no explanation for the unplanned change.

“Changes to planned pitch rotations are common near the end of an event of this length, and have happened a few times,” it said.

‘This change was made at the recommendation of the venue curator in collaboration with our host. The ICC’s independent pitch consultant has been informed of the change and has no reason to believe the pitch will not play properly.’

It is understood pitch rotations were changed four times during the 45 group matches, with the ICC saying Atkinson was consulted on each occasion.

But he complained in an email to his ICC bosses that he had been given only three days’ notice of a change of surface for England’s match against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 4.

He wrote, “It was too late to do anything about it because there was not enough time to prepare the proper field planned for use.”

The ICC statement also addressed the issue of how and when the field change for Wednesday’s match was communicated to Atkinson, whose job is to oversee preparations in coordination with the home authorities. As Mail Sport reported on Wednesday, he was unimpressed that the move was presented to him as a fait accompli.

The game’s governing body issued a statement confirming Mail Sport’s revelation, but offered no explanation for the unplanned change

It remains unclear which surface will be used for Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad

The question of whether the pitch would ‘play well’ was of little importance to the breach of protocol.

It remains unclear which surface will be used for Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad, where India will play the winners of Thursday’s second semi-final between Australia and South Africa in Calcutta.

According to the pre-tournament schedule, the match was supposed to take place on pitch No. 6 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, although it should only have been used once afterwards, for England’s tournament opener against New Zealand on October 5.

But the England-Australia match was switched to the same strip ‘without notice’, raising the possibility that the final could take place on a surface that had already been used twice.

The other option is pitch No. 5, which has been used only once, for India’s match against Pakistan on October 14.