All pitches, except for the one in Sydney, used during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy have received a 'very good' rating from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The Sydney pitch, however, has been rated 'satisfactory' after the Test match at the iconic venue concluded in less than three days.

Sydney, which hosted the all-important finale of the five-Test series, offered excessive seam movement and bounce, surprising former cricketers and pundits. The Sydney Cricket Ground, traditionally known as the most spin-friendly venue in Australia, behaved uncharacteristically. India made a contentious team selection decision by picking two spinners-Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar-despite the healthy tinge of green on the pitch on the first morning.

As expected, pacers dominated the Test match, with 11 wickets falling on Day 1 and 15 wickets on Day 2. India were bowled out for 185 in their first innings after stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and opted to bat. Australia were dismissed for 181 on Day 2, but their pacers returned with relentless aggression, skittling India out for just 157 in the second innings.

To India's dismay, Bumrah was unavailable to bowl during Australia's final innings, and .The win enabled Australia to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Sunil Gavaskar and Justin Langer were among the many of the pitch in Sydney.

Four pitches -- Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney -- received the top rating while Sydney missed out, according to Channel 7. The Sydney pitch earned a satisfactory or average rating.

SYDNEY: SATISFACTORY

PERTH, ADELAIDE, BRISBANE, MELBOURNE: VERY GOOD

Peter Roach, Australia's Head of Cricket Operations and Scheduling, said he was happy with the ratings and reflected on the nature of the Sydney pitch.

"The SCG has been striving to bring out their unique characteristics of early pace and bounce before the pitch wears and spins. This year was a step in the right direction to achieving this which provided an exciting finish to the Border Gavaskar Trophy series and bodes well for the Ashes summer in 2025-26."

HOW ARE THE PITCHES RATED BY ICC

The ratings system was revamped in 2023 to reduce the number of ratings from six to four - very good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory and unfit.

Berfore that, the ICC rated Test pitches as Very Good (providing an even contest between bat and ball), Good (slightly favouring one discipline but still competitive), Average (acceptable but lacking balance), Below Average (heavily biased towards one side, earning one demerit point), Poor (extremely biased or unsafe, resulting in three demerit points), and Unfit (unsafe for play, leading to five demerit points and immediate suspension for the venue). A pitch that accumulates five demerit points over a five-year period will be suspended for a year. Pitches that are unfit will be immediately suspended.

India won the first Test in Perth, which lasted four days. The pink-ball Test in Adelaide was won by Australia in three days as they bounced back to level the series. The third Test in Brisbane offered a sporting pitch, but the match ended in a draw due to rain.

The Melbourne pitch was among the best as it lasted five days and all three results were possible until the last session of the Test match.

Australia, however, were well within their rights to offer a spicy pitch in Sydney as they made good use of favourable home conditions to win the series 3-1 and book their place in the World Test Championship final.