Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that the pitch used for the first India-South Africa Test match was not a turner, adding that it was faulty pitch preparation that had resulted in the surface becoming what it did during the match. The 39-year-old said that one could not give a turning pitch at the Eden Gardens, and if that was the case, then one would get a wicket similar to this Test match.
Barring South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, no other batter made a 50+ score on a surface where his side beat India by 30 runs, defending 123 runs in the final innings.
“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.
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The 106-Test veteran Ashwin, however, defended the current Indian setup, taking cues from his early days as a Test cricketer, where he was part of a transition.
“Another point of view is that it’s a very young team. They will also take their time to adapt. There have been cases in the past. In 2012, when I, Virat (Kohli), and (Cheteshwar) Pujara came first, we lost a series to England. We lost to a well-experienced English side. After that, how to play, how to really counter it, how to take our game to the front, improvements will happen. So, let’s keep our judgments reserved,” Ashwin said.
That loss to England in 2012 was India’s last series defeat at home before they were blanked by New Zealand 3-0 last year.
