There’s unanimous agreement that the pitch was the biggest reason behind India’s defeat to South Africa in Kolkata. Well, everyone does not agree. India head coach Gautam Gambhir revealed after the match that the management had asked for the surface that caused India’s doom.
Difficult Eden Gardens pitch
The pitch was built for disaster. It had invariable bounce and extreme spin. Cracks opened up earlier than anyone would expect. As a result, the Test match ended in 8 sessions with just 594 runs scored at an average of 15.63 per wicket.
But Gambhir didn’t seem to think that the pitch was ‘unplayable’. Instead, he felt that India didn’t play well enough. The batters didn’t pass the technique and temperament test.
In the aftermath of what was India’s 4th home Test defeat in the last 6 matches, several have criticised the decision to prepare an extremely bowling-friendly pitch, which diminishes the gulf of quality between India and the opposition.
‘Win Test matches in 5 days, not 3’ – Ganguly to Gambhir
Spin legend Anil Kumble was left confused by Gambhir’s comments. Sourav Ganguly has agreed with his former India teammate and has advised Gambhir to prepare pitches that help batsmen score. This, in turn, allows the quality Indian bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj to work their magic.
“Play on good wickets. I hope Gautam Gambhir is listening. He needs to take the wicket out of the game. Because if his batsmen are not putting up 350–400, he will not win Test matches. That’s the reason they won in England – because his batsmen put runs up on the board. He must play on good wickets. And trust his people. And win Test matches in 5 days. Not in 3 days.”
“I have got a lot of time for him. A lot of regard. He is a competitor. He has done well for India as a coach. But he must play on good wickets. Because he has got Bumrah, he has got Siraj, he has got Shami, he has got Kuldeep, and he has got Jadeja,” Ganguly told NDTV.
