The Eden Gardens pitch has become a centre of controversy as the first Test of the series against South Africa ended within eight sessions. Only one batter crossed the fifty-run mark in the low-scoring affair. There was enough assistance for pacers and spinners which made life tough for batters in the middle. Following the defeat, Ravichandran Ashwin agreed with head coach Gautam Gambhir saying that it wasn't a rank turner. However, the legendary off-spinner termed the pitch as "quite dangerous".
“If someone calls this Eden Gardens pitch a turner, I will not agree with them one bit. It was proper wicket preparation that went awry. The point I agree with is that it was quite dangerous. But my view is, give a turner. But there are only a few surfaces to give a turner. You cannot give a turner in Eden Gardens. If you try to give a turner there, the wicket will turn like this,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin backs young team amidst batting struggles
In the absence of their injured captain Shubman Gill, India were bowled out for 93 in the run chase of 124. But, Ashwin chose not to be overly critical of the team. He recalled the home series defeat to England in 2012 and backed the current side to learn as they are still a very young team with plenty senior cricketers including himself retiring within a year’s time.
“Another point of view is that it’s a very young team. They will also take their time to adapt. There have been cases in the past. In 2012, when I, Virat (Kohli), and (Cheteshwar) Pujara came first, we lost a series to England. We lost to a well-experienced English side. After that, how to play, how to really counter it, how to take our game to the front, improvements will happen. So, let’s keep our judgments reserved,” Ashwin said.
India look to avoid last year’s forgettable feat
After the home series defeat to England, India became a formidable Test side at home. They did not lose a single home Test series for over a decade, until the cleansweep by Tom Latham’s New Zealand last year.
India will be looking to avoid a similar feat against South Africa who ended their 15-year drought of a Test win on Indian soil. The second Test is scheduled to commence on November 22 at Guwahati's Barsapara Cricket Stadium.