Anil Kumble Gives Honest Opinion on the Eden Gardens Pitch
India suffered a terrible loss against South Africa in the first test at the Eden Gardens. But there have been more questions on the pitch conditions rather than the team selection. Recently, Anil Kumble spoke about the pitch conditions at this venue, and expressed his views on the same.
India suffered a terrible loss against South Africa in the first test at the Eden Gardens. But there have been more questions on the pitch conditions rather than the team selection. Recently, Anil Kumble spoke about the pitch conditions at this venue, and expressed his views on the same.
India did not have a good start to its match against South Africa at the Eden Gardens. First, the team had a different composition, playing with 4 spinners, as South Africa came with two. And the next thing which gave rise to a controversy was at which the game was being played.
This pitch made it difficult to bat even on the third day of the game, giving the bowlers an edge. In the entire game, only one batsman was able to score a half-century. And there was no team which managed to score at least 200 runs in a single innings of the game. Due to this, the Indian team has received criticism for the pitch selection.
1. Gambhir on Eden Gardens Pitch
Gautam Gambhir had a chat with the pitch curator before the game. And the curator had prepared the pitch also according to the needs of the Indian team management. Still, India went on to lose the game which was also a historic loss for the team to suffer. Reacting to this, ,“It was not an unplayable wicket, there were no demons.”
,“I felt 123 is a very chaseable score. If you are willing to put your head down and if you have a solid defence, if you have a temperament, you can definitely score runs. This is the pitch we asked for and this is what we got. You should know how to play spin. The majority of wickets were taken by pacers.”
Even the pitch curator reacted to this by saying,“I know everyone is questioning this pitch. Honestly, I know how to prepare a pitch for a Test. That's exactly what I did. I did it as instructed. I don't think about what others say. Not everyone knows everything. So I do my job with dedication, and I want to continue doing that in the future as well.”
2. Anil Kumble Reacts
Anil Kumble was present in the commentary panel. Several times while watching the team, Kumble even reacted to the way the pitch was behaving. After the match, he was not happy looking at this pitch behaviour. And the comments made by Gautam Gambhir made him wonder why Gambhir demanded such a pitch from the curators.
Pic Source: MensXP
Kumble said,“If you look back at the legacy of Eden Gardens, there have been so many Test matches that have been played. I’ve been coming here since I was an Under-19 kid and I’ve never had a pitch that behaved like this over the three days in a Test match,” Kumble said on JioHotstar after the match. “I did listen to what Gautam said, he did mention about the fact that the team wanted something like this. Then I’m a bit confused because I know this is a young side.”
He further continued by saying,“When you want your young side to grow, which they did exceptionally well in England, on really tough conditions, good cricketing conditions, they fought really well, 2-all draw. Then when you come here, I’m sure they would have done exceptionally well in similar conditions. You need to give them the confidence to continue to score runs. The batterrs need to feel confident of scoring hundreds. For bowlers it needs to be challenging. The wickets will come. They are all skilful bowlers.”
3. Anil Kumble’s Legacy
Over his career, Anil Kumble has been India's most skillful spin bowler. Even decades after his retirement, no Indian bowler had come even close to the record he created in the Test format. And now, watching the same team lose test matches at home comes as a disheartening moment for the former Indian player.
Anil Kumble in Tests:
- Innings: 236
- Overs: 6802.2
- Maidens: 1576
- Wickets: 619
- Average: 29.65
- Economy: 2.69
- Five-wicket Hauls: 35
Kumble has held some gigantic numbers in the Test format for the Indian team. Fans also remember the time when Kumble was the coach of the Indian side, and the team used to win home games easily. While his stint as India's Head Coach was small, the wins were incredible.
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