Johannesburg - Former Test captains Shaun Pollock and Sunil Gavaskar on Thursday criticised the pitch being used for the third and final Test between South Africa and India at the Wanderers Stadium.

The former South African and Indian captains were commenting while examining the pitch for SuperSport television during the tea break on the second day of a match in which batsmen have struggled throughout.

Pointing to cracks and indentations on a good length, with graphics showing extravagant movement and unpredictable bounce, Pollock said: "If you've got deliveries behaving like this on day two of a Test match it can't be judged a good surface."

He compared the Wanderers pitch to one which was condemned as "poor" by the International Cricket Council when South Africa toured India in 2015.

"You go to India and get a surface like Nagpur where it turned too much. This can't be judged a good surface because as a batsman you are never in."

Gavaskar said pitches needed to give both batsmen and bowlers a fair chance.

"You can get a very flat surface which is totally in favour of batsmen. This is a pitch which is totally in favour of bowlers," he said.