Rawalpindi pitch at risk of being rated 'poor' by ICC 

The pitch at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi is under the scanner after only yielding 11 wickets across four days of play. The venue, hosting the first Test between Pakistan and Australia, could be rated as poor by the match referee, Ranjan Madugalle, in his report.

Pakistan amassed 476-4 in their first innings with only two wickets falling on Day 1. The flat surface in Rawalpindi did not offer any assistance to pacers and spinners alike, leading to Imam-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali scoring big hundreds with relative ease.

If the pitch is rated poor by the match referee upon the culmination of the match, Rawalpindi will be handed three demerit points. If a venue gets five demerit points across a span of five years, it will be banned from hosting any international cricket for a period of twelve months.

According to ICC guidelines, seam, spin, and bounce at different stages of a Test make the contest even between bat and ball.

Apart from the pitch, the outfield is also given a rating. The various grades involved in the assessment by the ICC match referee are Very Good, Good, Average, Below Average, Poor, Unfit. The ICC rule states:

"A pitch or outfield is deemed to be substandard if it receives a rating of poor or unfit. Sanctions may be applied by ICC to a venue that presents a substandard pitch or outfield for international cricket."

Madugalle, who serves as the chief of the panel of ICC match referees, had rated the pitch at the MCG for the 2017 Ashes Test as poor. The surface yielded a draw with Sir Alastair Cook scoring an unbeaten 244.

"Pretty benign, dead wicket" - Steve Smith's assessment of the Rawalpindi pitch

Following the end of play on Day 3, it was evident that the fixture was heading towards a draw due to the lack of wickets. Former Australia captain, Steve Smith, who scored 78 off 196 deliveries, termed the pitch as dead with nothing in it for the bowlers. During a virtual press conference at the end of the day's play he said:

"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. So I thought it would break up a little bit more and probably turn a bit more from the start, but it probably hasn't done so. But yeah, pretty benign, dead wicket."