Published : 26 Aug 2026, 04:19 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:36 AM
India great Sunil Gavaskar believes Australia deliberately sought a fast and bouncy pitch for the second Test in Mackay after being "humiliated" by Bangladesh in the series opener in Darwin.
Writing in his column for Sportstar, the former India captain said the surface at the Great Barrier Reef Arena was "no surprise" after Bangladesh's emphatic victory in the first Test.
"The pitch in Mackay was no surprise. After the Aussies were humiliated by the Bangladeshis in the first Test, they were going to prepare a pitch that would be fast and bouncy," Gavaskar wrote.
He also took aim at the "double standards" in the way Test pitches are judged, contrasting the criticism directed at turning surfaces in India with the treatment of fast and bouncy wickets down under.
The Mackay Test ended in a little over five sessions, with 18 wickets falling on the opening day and another 12 on the second.
Bangladesh were bowled out for 64 and 95, while Australia made 210 in their only innings to win by an innings and level the two-match series 1-1.
Mitchell Starc claimed six wickets in Bangladesh's first innings and another four in the second, while Shoriful Islam took seven wickets for Bangladesh.
Drawing a contrast with the condemnation directed at turning pitches in India when matches finish quickly, Gavaskar said similarly short Tests on fast and bouncy Australian surfaces tend to attract far less scrutiny, with the focus instead placed on the batters' inability to cope with the conditions.
"So, another Test match in Australia has finished within two days," he wrote. "This has happened four times there in the last few years. And we are yet to hear any criticism of the trampoline-bounce pitches that produce such results."
Gavaskar said one explanation commonly offered was that batters lacked the technique to deal with the bounce rather than there being anything wrong with the surface.
But he questioned that reasoning when Australia's batters also struggled.
"This last excuse could be faintly accepted if the home team batters had batted well, but when even the home batters can't stitch a run or a decent partnership together, then what does it tell you about the pitch?"
Gavaskar also questioned suggestions that such surfaces were prepared without any input from the team management.
"We all know what really happens," he wrote.
"It's just that the Indian management is open about wanting pitches to suit its bowling strength while those from the old powers will do the little whispering and nudging and get a surface that they need."
The Mackay Test lasted 750 balls, making it the second-shortest completed Test in Australia and the fourth-shortest overall.
According to 7Cricket chief cricket reporter Tom Morris, the match referee is expected to rate the Mackay pitch "very good".
Gavaskar said he would not be surprised if the surface escaped an adverse rating.
"But lo and behold, if a game finishes in three days in India, there will be all kinds of derogatory reports and insinuations made about the pitches, BCCI and Indian cricket," he wrote.
"The hypocrisy is so brazen that it is simply mind-boggling."
The India great was also critical of the length of time Bangladesh had to wait for another Test tour of Australia.
Bangladesh were granted Test status in 2000 but had to wait 23 years for their second Test series in Australia, with Gavaskar also noting that the matches were staged outside the country's traditional Test venues.
Bangladesh had dominated the opening Test in Darwin before Australia responded emphatically in Mackay.
