India and South Africa will begin a two-Test series at Eden Gardens on Friday. Meanwhile, the nature of the pitch for this Test has already drawn attention. It’s believed the Indian team doesn’t want to play on a rank turner against South Africa this time. South Africa played its last Test series in Pakistan, where the hosts also played both Test matches on rank turner pitches.
The African team defeated Pakistan in the second and final Test, playing excellent cricket on a turning pitch, and ended the series 1-1. However, Indian captain Shubman Gill is concerned about the Eden Gardens pitch. It’s a dry pitch, having not been watered for nearly a week. On Tuesday, the Indian team was practicing at Eden Gardens. Captain Shubman Gill became concerned when he saw the condition of the pitch, which was dry and hard.
Indian captain looked worried
Gill immediately called pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee and had a lengthy discussion about the situation. The two discussed the situation for about 15 minutes. Bowler Morne Morkel was also present with Gill, but neither was satisfied with the condition of the pitch.
According to a report by news agency, the pitch has not been watered for the past week. It is dry and brown, with a few patches of grass visible in some places. The South African team, upon seeing the condition of the pitch on Tuesday, began focusing on spin bowling in their practice sessions. Their batsmen were practicing against spin, and their bowlers were seen honing their spin.
Ganguly also arrived on filed
As evening approached, former Indian captain and current Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly arrived at the field, inspected the pitch, and spoke with the pitch curator at length. When Ganguly arrived, water had been sprinkled around the pitch, but not on the pitch itself. Ganguly had previously clarified to the media that Team India had made no demands regarding the pitch for this Test. India had not requested a rank-turner pitch.
Pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee told a media group after Team India’s practice session on Tuesday evening that this pitch will be a good and ideal pitch for the Test, which will be a good supporting wicket.