The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Tuesday that the pitch for the second Test of the ICC World Test Championship series between Bangladesh and New Zealand at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur has been rated as “unsatisfactory” under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.ICC Match Referee, David Boon, submitted his report to the ICC expressing the concerns of the match officials and after consulting with the captains of both teams. Following the assessment, the venue has received one demerit point. The report has been forwarded to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), which now has 14 days if it wishes to appeal against the sanction.

“The outfield was very good and held up extremely well with the rain. However, it appeared that the pitch may have been under-prepared, as it was not hard and was covered in grass clippings on day one. From the first session onwards, throughout the remainder of the match, the bounce was inconsistent with numerous balls bursting the surface. Deliveries from spin bowlers often went over the batter’s shoulder when playing forward and then occasionally stayed very low,” Boon said.New Zealand beat Bangladesh by four wickets on the fourth day of the second test on December 9 to level the two-match series at 1-1 as Ajaz Patel ripped through the Asian side with six wickets before his batting colleagues secured victory. Chasing 137 to win on a treacherous track at Mirpur's Shere Bangla Stadium after Bangladesh's Zakir Hasan hit a battling 59, the tourists rode on Glenn Phillips' unbeaten 40 and Mitchell Santner's 35 not out to prevai in a nail-biting encounter. These two sides now travel to New Zealand to meet again in a three-match ODI series. The first game will be played on 17th December, Sunday starting at 3.30 am IST.