Former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble and ex-South African pacer Dale Steyn disagreed with head coach Gautam Gambhir’s statement that there was nothing wrong with the Eden Gardens pitch for IND vs SA 1st Test. Temba Bavuma and co. clinched a 30-run win to go 1-0 up in the series in a game that was wrapped up in three days. Despite the pitch being severely criticized, Gambhir claimed that it was just what India had wanted, and this did not sit well with Kumble and Steyn.
‘Confused’
Speaking on JioHotstar after the IND vs SA 1st Test, Kumble revealed that he was confused by Gambhir’s take on the pitch, adding that he had been visiting the venue since his U19 days and that he had never seen a pitch behaving in such a manner in a three-day Test. He said that the young Indian side needs to play in good conditions like they had in England in order to grow.
“I’ve been coming here since I was an Under-19 kid and I’ve never had a pitch that behaved like this over the three days in a Test match. I did listen to what Gautam said, he did mention about the fact that the team wanted something like this. Then I’m a bit confused because I know this is a young side,” Kumble said.
‘Demons in it for sure’
Steyn agreed with Kumble’s opinion and pointed out that any pitch where a Test got over in 3 days had demons in it for sure. He said that even the best batters – Temba Bavuma and Washington Sundar – could have gotten out on any ball had their defence not been solid.
“The two who applied themselves best were Washington Sundar in the fourth innings and Temba Bavuma. Even they looked like they could have gotten out at any time; a ball had their number on it. But their defense was the most solid. This wicket certainly has demons in it, that’s for sure. Any Test match that finishes within three days has got some demons in it, for sure,” Steyn stated.
What did Gambhir say?
“This is what we asked for, and we are happy with what we got. This is exactly the pitch we were looking for. The curator was very helpful,” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.
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