The pitch has faced heavy criticism, but the former captain insists it wasn’t a ‘dangerous turner’.
Sunil Gavaskar has attributed India’s defeat to South Africa in the opening Test at Eden Gardens to the Indian batters’ lack of technical proficiency.
Although the wicket has been heavily criticised, the former captain maintained that it was not a “vicious turner.” “It wasn’t an excessively turning surface. It was a track that required you to bat with a five-day mindset, not like a 50-over or T20 game where, after a few dot balls, you look for a release shot. That’s where the problem lay… A target of 124 should have been chased down with at least five wickets to spare given the strength of India’s batting,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“Many are discussing what the pitch was doing, but if you observed Simon Harmer’s over carefully, how many balls were actually turning? He varied his deliveries smartly. He bowled straight for the most part and got the occasional one to spin,” he added.
