Dubai. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given a satisfactory rating to the Eden Gardens pitch of Kolkata. The first Test between India and South Africa was played on this ground from 14 November, and the match ended within three days, with India losing to the visiting team.
However, there was no surface condemnation. “It was exactly the pitch we were looking for. It’s exactly the pitch and I think the curators were very, very helpful. And that’s exactly what we wanted. And that’s exactly what we got.
That’s what happens when you don’t play well,” India coach Gautam Gambhir had said after his team lost by 30 runs when they failed to chase 124. However, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak contradicted Gambhir on arrival in Guwahati – the venue of the second Test, saying that no one wanted a pitch like Kolkata. The pitch offered sharp turn right from the first day, and South Africa’s off-spinners Simon Harmer was named player of the match for taking eight wickets for 51 runs in the match.
However, the Indian spinners were unable to make the same impact, leading to a shocking defeat for the Shubman Gill-led team. Sourav Ganguly criticized the Indian team management for choosing such a surface. The former Indian captain felt that the team had enough talent to succeed on pitches that were good for the game rather than highly assisted pitches.
“Play on good wickets. I hope Gautam Gambhir is listening. I respect him a lot… but he should play on good wickets. Because he has (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammad) Siraj, (Mohammed) Shami, Kuldeep (Yadav) and (Ravindra) Jadeja,” he said. The second and final Test in Guwahati was played on a much better pitch, and the match lasted five days. However, India lost that Test as well and lost the series 0–2. The pitch at that place was rated very good.
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