There has been a debate on the pitch at Eden Gardens. The topic was fueled even more when the Indian Head Coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed that the team did need a wicket that was spinning. While many have criticized the decision, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar supported the call and even went on to say the pitch is not a vicious turner.
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“So, it was not a vicious turning pitch. It was a pitch on which you needed to bat as if you were playing a five-day Test, not a 50-over match or a Twenty20 where, after three dot balls, you try to play a break-out-of-jail shot. That’s the issue. One hundred and twenty-four should have been chased with at least five wickets in hand with the kind of batting line-up India had,” Gavaskar said to India Today.
“A lot of people are talking about what the pitch was doing, but if you had a look at what Simon Harmer was doing in an over, how many of his deliveries were turning? He was mixing it up really well. He bowled straight and got the odd one to turn,” he added. South African spinner Harmer picked up eight wickets in the game.
What did Gambhir say about pitch?
Speaking about the pitch, Gambhir explained: “The point is you should know how to play turn. This is what we asked for, and this is what we got. I thought the curator was very supportive, and I still believe that, regardless of how the wicket was, 123 was chaseable. I felt that if you were willing to put your head down, and if you have a solid defence, if you have the temperament, you can definitely score and, it might not be a wicket, which is going to be very, very flambant where you can play those big shots, but if you’re willing to put your head down, definitely it’s a wicket where you can score. This is exactly the pitch we were looking for. This is exactly the pitch, and I feel that, as I just mentioned before that the curator was very helpful, and this is exactly what we wanted, and this is exactly what we got. When you don’t play well, this is what happens.”
“Totally agree with Gautam Gambhir. 124 was chaseable on this pitch. There was no question about it,” Sunil Gavaskar supported Gambhir.
“I fully agree with Gautam Gambhir that there was nothing wrong with the pitch. The oddball turned on Day 3, that’s normal. How many of Maharaj’s deliveries turned? How many of Jadeja’s or Axar’s turned?” he added.
