Rohit Sharma. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

• The surface used for Wednesday’s Cricket World Cup semi-final between India and New Zealand is a used pitch.
• There’s no ICC rule that states knockout games must be played on fresh pitches.
• However, reports indicate a deviation from the pre-tournament pitch allocation.
• For more sports news, go to the News24 Sport front page.

The first semi-final of the 2023 World Cup between India and New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday will be played on a used pitch that has already staged two games during the showpiece tournament.

LIVE | CWC 2023: India v New Zealand – semi-final

Although there is no International Cricket Council rule stating knockout games must be played on fresh pitches, a brand new surface can be provided for showpiece games.

Both Britain’s Daily Mail and the ESPNCricinfo website reported the India-New Zealand semi-final was initially supposed to be played on pitch seven, the central strip at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

Pitch seven was not used during the round-robin stage of the World Cup.

But instead the match is being played on pitch six, the surface used for South Africa’s 229-run win over England on 21 October, and India’s 302-run victory over Sri Lanka on 2 November.

A source quoted by ESPNcricinfo said this represented a deviation from the pre-tournament pitch allocation.

“6-8-6-8-7 was the planned rotation at Wankhede,” the source said. “6-8-6-8 is what has been used so far.”

According to the ICC’s tournament playing conditions, the relevant ground authority – in this case the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) – “is responsible for the selection and preparation of the pitch” before any given match”.

The ICC also has its own independent pitch consultant, Andy Atkinson.

The Daily Mail reported Atkinson had become frustrated by changes to pre-tournament plans.

They quoted a leaked email in which Atkinson speculated whether the pitch for Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad “will be the first ever ICC CWC final to have a pitch which has been specifically chosen and prepared to their stipulation at the request of the team management and/or the hierarchy of the home nation board”.

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The winners of Wednesday’s match will face either Australia or South Africa, who play in Kolkata on Thursday, in the final.

Australia captain Pat Cummins said on Wednesday he had confidence in the integrity of the ICC’s pitch process.

“Yeah, I saw that (the report) … obviously ICC have an independent pitch curator who manages that so I’m sure they are all over making sure it’s fair for both teams,” Cummins said.

“So far this tournament [on pitches] that we’ve played on I’ve not seen any issue.”

Used pitches generally aid spinners, which could be a boon to an India side that has Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav as two of its frontline bowlers.

The ICC does not mandate that knockout games be played on a new pitch, with their regulations saying only: “It is expected that venues that are allocated the responsibility of hosting a match will present the best possible pitch and outfield conditions for that match.”

The semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup in England were played on fresh pitches, but used pitches were provided for the semi-finals of last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.