Two days and 40 wickets; That is how the scoreboard read at the Eden Gardens, after the first India vs South Africa Test recently ended, with the hosts losing by 30 runs. Simon Harmer wreaked havoc and returned with eight wickets as the batters from both the sides struggled. Nonetheless, the ICC has rated the Eden pitch as satisfactory, and the decision has come by match referee Richie Richardson.
MCG gets demerit point
On the flipside, the MCG pitch for the Boxing Day Test between Australia and England, that visitors won on the second day itself, was rated as unsatisfactory by match referee Jeff Crowe. That also attracted one demerit point. There in the first innings, AUS were bundled out for a paltry 152 with Josh Tongue picking up a fifer. In reply ENG were bundled out for 110. Come the second innings, Australia scored 132, post which England successfully chased down 178.
Eden Gardens pitch ‘satisfactory’
Coming back to the IND vs SA encounter in mid-November, coach Gautam Gambhir had come out in defence of the pitch. “There was no demon in this wicket. It was not an unplayable one. This was not a typical turning track. Majority of the wickets were claimed by the seamers. It was more of a test of your technique and mental toughness… Those who defended well scored runs. This is exactly what we wanted but when you don’t play well, this is what happens,” the head coach had said.
Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said that the pitch did unexpected things and was crumbling a bit. “In the last match, as we all saw, the pitch was dusty and was also crumbling a bit. That was unexpected. We thought that the spinners would come into play properly from the third day. Even the curators didn’t expect that. Seeing that much turn on the second day is not normal. It probably happened because the top layer was dry and the pitch underneath was hard since it was rolled a lot,” Kotak had said in the pre-match press conference.
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