India suffered a crushing 30-run defeat against South Africa in the first Test played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The match ended in just two and a half days due to a turner pitch. This victory marked South Africa’s first Test win on Indian soil in 15 years. The visiting team has taken a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series.
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The main reason for the Indian team’s defeat was the controversial Eden Gardens pitch. On the team management’s demand, the curator prepared a rank turner, which proved helpful for the spinners from the very first day. But this strategy backfired and India lost the match. Many former cricketers raised questions about the quality of the pitch. Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly revealed that on the team management’s demand, the pitch was not watered for four days.
Ganguly said, “The pitch was exactly as the Indian camp wanted. This is what happens when watering is not done for four days. Chief curator Sujan Mukherjee cannot be held responsible for this.”
Head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen inspecting the pitch with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and also discussed it with curator Sujan Mukherjee on November 10. South Africa won the toss and took the match in their favor, as chasing a fourth-innings target in Kolkata is notoriously difficult.
In the second innings, when the Proteas looked to be all out for under 100, captain Temba Bavuma batted sensibly and scored a half-century, taking the team to 153, laying the foundation for victory. This innings by Bavuma will be remembered for a long time in history.
In this match, South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first. South Africa scored 159 runs in the first innings. In reply, the Indian team was all out for 189 runs. India took a lead of 30 runs in the first innings. In reply, South Africa scored 153 runs in the second innings and set a target of 124 runs for India. Achieving this target on the turning pitch of Kolkata was not easy. India’s batting was very poor in the second innings and the team was all out for 93 runs in the second session itself.