File Pic: Shubman Gill inspects the pitch at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. (PTI photo) MUMBAI: International Cricket Council match referee former West Indies captain Richie Richardson has given a “satisfactory” assessment of the spell of spin for the first Test between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata from November 14-16, which ended in 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 has been rated “very good” by the ICC. South Africa won the match by 408 runs to clinch the series 2–0 – their first series win in India in 25 years.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Significantly, the MCG pitch for the Boxing Day Ashes Test between Australia and England, which ended over two days, was rated “unsatisfactory” by ICC match referee Jeff Crowe. As a result, the MCG received one minus point.
India can survive without Virat and Rohit, not without Bumrah
In the Kolkata Test, South Africa were bowled out for 159 and 153 while India were bowled 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 gutsy 55 not out from 136 balls in the second innings.Thriving on a pitch that had inconsistent bounce – a few balls bounced or shot awkwardly, albeit low – and sharp turns right from day one, such as India pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who took five for 27 off 14 overs on day one, South Africa’s veteran spinner Simon Harmer (four matches for 5 and 20 for four in 11 runs eight for 51), Marco Jansen (3-35 & 2-15) Ravindra Jadeja (4-50 in second innings) proved virtually impossible to negotiate with.
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After the match, India head coach Gautam Gambhir deployed a strong defense at the Eden Gardens and said: “There was no demon in that wicket. It wasn’t playable. This wasn’t a typical turn. Most of the wickets were claimed by seamers. It was more of a test of your technique and mental toughness when it happens, but this is exactly what you defended, that’s what we wanted but didn’t play.”However, ahead of the second Test in Guwahati, India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak took a completely different stance from Gambhir, claiming that the pitch had turned unexpectedly and was already dusty and also crumbling.“In the last match, as we all saw, the pitch was dusty and also crumbling a bit. That was unexpected. We thought the spinners would come into play properly from the third day. Even the curators didn’t expect it. It’s not normal to see so much turnover on the second day. It probably happened because the top layer was dry and the pitch underneath was hard because Kotak had a lot of roll in the pre-conference.”
