Aakash Chopra and Mitchell Johnson argue over the 'Perth' pitch

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra and Australian seamer Mitchell Johnson were involved in a verbal battle on Friday. The exchange was based on the pitch at the Perth Stadium that hosted the second Test of the 4-match series between India and Australia.

As per the new ICC disciplinary system, match referees rate the pitches and outfields after the completion of each match. Ranjan Madugalle, the match referee of the recently concluded Test at Perth, gave an ‘average’ rating to the pitch, which is just one short of the lowest rating ‘poor’. This has instigated reactions from fans and experts and the latest to have joined the party are Aakash and Johnson.

The war of words

The former Australian speedster was not impressed with the rating given by Madugalle. He took to Twitter and stated that the wicket at Perth enabled an equal contest between bat and ball, unlike flat tracks which predominantly assist the batsmen. He further added that inconsistent bounce shouldn’t be something to be concerned about as it usually occurs when the pitch wears down.

Aakash, the cricketer-turned-commentator, didn’t seem to be in agreement with what Johnson said as he replied to the latter’s tweet saying that the inconsistency in bounce was evident as early as on Day 1 when part-time spinner Hanuma Vihari bowled a good length delivery that took off abruptly to become a chest-high bouncer.

The arguments heated up

Johnson didn’t back away from his claims and hit back at Aakash by tweeting that the latter shouldn’t really be complaining about an odd bouncer bowled by a spinner as he rather enjoyed a string of fiery bouncers from the Indian pace bowling trio in the second innings.

He kept emphasizing the fact that the rating given by Madugalle is slightly harsh as he believed that the wicket was good and is no way dangerous when compared to many other pitches across the world.

Aakash retaliated that he was in complete agreement with the ‘average’ rating and felt that the decision of the match referee in this regard was fair and neutral. He also took a jibe at the left-arm pacer saying that some of the pitches the latter played on didn’t deserve ‘good’ rating at all. Finally, both gentlemen acknowledged the disagreement with each other’s opinion and the argument came to a closure.

Here is their Twitter battle:

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