With just bthree days left to go for the first Test between India and South Africa, the pitch at the Eden Gardens has become a point of discussion. The first Test of the two-match series will be played at the venue from November 14 and this will be India's first red-ball match at the stadium since 2019. With the pitch having not been used by the Indian team for Tests in years, there were worrying signs about the conditions from the get-go.
Gambhir and Gill not satisfied?
According to a report by PTI, both Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill were unhappy with the pitch after they inspected it for the first time alongside Marne Morkel and Sitanshu Kotak on Tuesday. Soon after, pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee was summoned and he had a long discussion with both Gill and Morkel. The pitch had reportedly not been watered for a week and this led to light grass patches forming on it.
“Morkel and Gill checked the firmness before summoning curator Sujan Mukherjee for a 15-minute discussion. Judging by their expressions, the management did not appear entirely pleased with the surface. The pitch, which has not been watered for a week now, appeared dry and brown with light grass patches," the report stated.
The report further said that many other officials including the Cricket Association of Bengal's (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly had discussions about the pitch with Mukherjee. However, the latter still decided to deliberately leave the main pitch dry. Earlier, Ganguly had ensured that the pitch for the first Test will be a good one.
Mukherjee's remarks on the pitch
On the other hand, when asked about the pitch, Mukherjee remarked that it will offer help to both the batters and bowlers. He further stated that there will be significant turn and bounce as the days progress.
“The pitch will be good. It will be a good sporting wicket. As the days progress, there will be turn. There will be bounce. But everybody – batter, bowler – there is something for everybody on this pitch. The chat with the team like every home team. See, if you go to Australia, there will be bounce. Likewise, Indian teams ask for a bit of turn. Not much, but they ask for a bit of turn," Mukkherjee told reporters on Tuesday.