The much anticipated India-Pakistan match in the T20 World Cup 2022 is scheduled to be played on October 23, 2022, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The last time these two teams faced each other in the tournament, Pakistan emerged victorious, thus making this encounter an even more exciting one for fans.
In this backdrop, a viral picture showing some grounds-men fixing a cricket pitch in a stadium is doing rounds on social media. Users are sharing the picture claiming this to be the main pitch which has been flown in and will be used for the India-Pak match at the MCG.
A Facebook user posted the viral image with the caption:
ভারত বনাম পাকিস্তান ম্যাচের আগে মেলবোর্ন ক্রিকেট গ্রাউন্ডে বিমানে করে পিচ এনে পিচ লাগানো হচ্ছে সৌজন্যে:- খেলা আর খেলা
(English Translation: A pitch being flown in at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before the India vs Pakistan match Courtesy:- Play and play)
You can check the post here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral image and found the claim to be false.
A Reverse Image Search of the viral image led us to a September 30, 2022, Facebook post on the official page of Kardinia park stadium, Geelong, Victoria, Australia. One of the images posted by the page matches the viral image. The caption of the post stated that the pitches were dropped in recently on the ground as Kardinia Park Stadium is one of the venues for the much-awaited ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Looking closely at the viral image we noticed LAYERS STAND written in the background with the initial letter of the stand’s name hidden. Taking a cue from this, we checked for the stands’ names at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and got to know that there are a total of 4 stands in the stadium – MCC Members’ Reserve, Ponsford Stand, Olympic Stand, and Shane Warne Stand.
While searching for the stands’ names for the Kardinia Park stadium we got to know that it has six grandstands – the Brownlow Stand, the Players Stand, the Premiership Stand, and the Reg Hickey Stand. This indicates that the name of the stand in the viral image could be the PLAYERS STAND of Kardinia Park. Looking at one of the images posted by the stadium we can see PLAYERS STAND written in the background. The visuals in the image match the viral image.
Finally, looking at the image we can notice triangular shades on the roof of the stand. These match exactly with the shades in Kardinia Park’s images. MCG, on the other hand, has more of a circular structure on its roof.
Therefore, based on our investigation, we can conclusively say that the viral claim of a pitch being flown in at the Melbourne Cricket stadium for India vs Pakistan game, is false.
If you want to fact-check any story, WhatsApp it now on +91 11 7127 9799
Error: Contact form not found.
Click here for Latest News updates and viral videos on our AI-powered smart news