Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has come out in full support of Gautam Gambhir’s defence of the Eden Gardens pitch after India suffered an embarrassing 30-run defeat to South Africa in the first Test of the two-match series in Kolkata. Gavaskar said the pitch, which has been heavily scrutinised, was not vicious; instead, it was the Indian batters’ lack of temperament and sound technique that led to the shocking loss on Sunday, November 16.
The Kolkata Test ended in two-and-a-half days, with world Test champions South Africa stunning India at their own game. India failed to chase 124, collapsing for just 93 — the first time they had been bowled out for fewer than 100 runs in the fourth innings of a Test.
Although the Eden Gardens surface behaved erratically from the first over, offering turn and uneven bounce, head coach Gautam Gambhir insisted there were no demons on the pitch. Instead, he placed the blame squarely on the batters, saying he expected far better from them.
“Totally agree with Gautam Gambhir. 124 was chaseable on this pitch. There was no question about it,” Sunil Gavaskar told India Today on Monday.
“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.
Gavaskar did not hold back as he questioned the Indian batters’ temperament, saying they were attempting big shots far too early.
“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,” he said.
“I fully agree with Gautam Gambhir that there was nothing wrong with the pitch. The odd ball turned — on Day 3, that’s normal. How many of Maharaj’s deliveries turned? How many of Jadeja’s or Axar’s turned?
“People are calling it a spinning pitch. It was nothing vicious. Poor technique and poor temperament have landed us in this situation,” he said.
