The legendary Anil Kumble and Dale Steyn were left utterly baffled as India head coach Gautam Gambhir mounted a strong defence of the tough Eden Gardens pitch amid the raging criticism since Day 1 of the series opener against South Africa in Kolkata.
While the former Proteas bowler disagreed with Gambhir’s insistence that the pitch held “no demons,” Kumble, a former India head coach himself, was left “confused” as his compatriot admitted that the Eden Gardens track was exactly the kind the management wanted.
After 11 wickets fell on Day 1 and 15 more by the close of Day 2, the Kolkata surface came under scrutiny. However, Gambhir strongly defended Eden Gardens’ under-fire curator while criticising his batters’ inability to absorb pressure and find runs on the challenging pitch.
“It was not an unplayable wicket, there were no demons,” he said. “This is exactly the pitch we were looking for. The curator was very, very helpful and supportive. This is exactly what we wanted, and this is exactly what we got. When you don’t play well, this is what happens. Yes, it might not be a wicket which is going to be very flamboyant where you can play those big shots. But if you are willing to put your head down, definitely it is a wicket where you can score.”
Kumble was particularly taken aback by Gambhir’s statement, where he said these are exactly the conditions they wanted, and said curator Sujan Mukherjee was “very supportive”.
“If you look back at the legacy of Eden Gardens, there have been so many Test matches that have been played. 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,” Kumble said on JioHotstar after the 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.”
Steyn, on the other hand, strongly disagreed with Gambhir’s initial reaction, saying that there were indeed demons in the pitch, given that the match wrapped up by tea on Day 3.
“He said there weren’t demons in the pitch? I certainly saw quite a lot,” Steyn, who was part of the same panel, said. “You know, as Anil was saying, some balls are spinning two feet past the bat, hitting the keeper on the shoulder. The next one is skidding through, hitting the pad, and you’re out. That’s pretty tough to bat on. When batters don’t have the option to score runs, the application of defense becomes the biggest key. That itself means batting is really difficult.”
Ashwin slams faulty pitch prep
Former India bowler Ravichandran Ashwin, part of the dressing room under Gambhir until last December, avoided calling the Eden Gardens track a turner, echoing the ex-opener’s view that seamers made as much impact as the spinners. However, he did lash out at the poor preparation of the pitch, which he claimed resulted in the surface offering variable bounce.
“If someone calls this Eden Gardens pitch a turner, I will not agree with them one bit. It was proper wicket preparation that went awry. The point I agree with is that it was quite dangerous. But my view is, give a turner. But there are only a few surfaces to give a turner. You cannot give a turner in Eden Gardens. If you try to give a turner there, the wicket will turn like this,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.