ICC rates Eden Gardens IndiaSouth Africa turner pitch satisfactory

MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council match referee, former West Indies captain Richie Richardson has given a satisfactory rating to vicious turning track for the first Test between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, played from Nov 14-16, which ended inside three days, with the visitors winning by 30 runs. The pitch for the second and final Test of the series, at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati, received a very good rating from the ICC. South Africa won that match by 408 runs to clinch the series 2-0 - their first series win in India in 25 years.

Significantly, the MCG pitch for the Boxing Day Ashes Test between Australia and England, which ended inside two days, was rated as unsatisfactory by the ICC match referee for the game, Jeff Crowe. As a result, the MCG received one demerit point.

The Kolkata Test saw South Africa being bowled out for 159 & 153, while India were shot out for 189 and 93, while chasing 124 in the fourth and final innings on Day Three. The only half-century of the match was scored by South African captain Temba Bavuma, who hung around for a courageous 55 not out off 136 balls in the second innings.

Thriving on a pitch which had inconsistent bounce - several balls bounced awkwardly or shot though low - and sharp turn right from Day One, the likes of India pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who took five for 27 in 14 overs on Day One, South Africas veteran off-spinner Simon Harmer (four for 30 in 15.2 overs and four for 21 in 14 overs for a match haul of eight for 51), Marco Jansen (3-35 & 2-15) Ravindra Jadeja (4-50 in second innings) proved to be virtually impossible to negotiate.

Post the match, Indias head coach Gautam Gambhir mounted a strong defence of the Eden Gardens pitch, saying: There was no demon in this wicket. It was not an unplayable one. This was not a typical turning track. Majority of the wickets were claimed by the seamers. It was more of a test of your technique and mental toughness... Those who defended well scored runs. This is exactly what we wanted but when you dont play well, this is what happens.

However, before the second Test in Guwahati, Indias batting coach Sitanshu Kotak took a completely different stance than Gambhir, asserting that the pitch had developed an unexpected turn and was already dusty and was also crumbling.

In the last match, as we all saw, the pitch was dusty and was also crumbling a bit. That was unexpected. We thought that the spinners would come into play properly from the third day. Even the curators didnt expect that. Seeing that much turn on the second day is not normal. It probably happened because the top layer was dry and the pitch underneath was hard since it was rolled a lot, Kotak had said in the pre-match press conference.

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