What must a good test pitch behave like ?

[The Outsider]

So, Sriram doesn't Zaheer look like picking up a wicket here?

[Mr. Wicket]

Rajeev? What is that :D ?

Hard to tell. Could be Adelaide, could be modern Perth, could be Faisalabad, could be half the Windies tracks...

[Ram]

^ Bump for Shwetabh, Salil and others who defended this pitch. This is what Kumble and Lawson had to say on the pitch,

The one thing Kumble and Lawson, and just about everyone else who watched this game, agreed on was the nature of the pitch. "I think we all expected the pitch to do a bit more on the fourth and fifth day," said Lawson. "It was just the foot-holes that did something and it did hang together quite well so that made batting a little bit easier on the fourth and fifth day. I think it surprised a lot of us that it was so good for batting on the last day." Kumble said it had been tough to bowl on the pitch. "It got slower and slower and even when it spun, it spun very slowly. Considering the pitch and the conditions I thought our bowlers put in a fantastic effort," said Kumble, and suggested it was the time of the year that ensured that pitch did not break up more than it did, even on the final day. "It's winter here so there's a bit more moisture in the surface so even if the sun comes out, and it's not really harsh, the wicket tends to be on the slower side. Maybe that's one of the reasons. It's produced two good Test matches, but not really for the bowlers. It's been really tiring for the bowlers to try and ensure that 20 wickets are taken. We did really well to get at least 14."

A pitch that is so slow, low and offers nothing to the faster bowlers can never be good. How ironic that the last 4 wickets taken by pacers in this pitch were off slow-cutters.