Gautam Gambhir fires up in Eden pitch controversy; tears into India’s batters for defeat: 'There were no demons'

After a 15-wicket Day 2 in Kolkata, India looked poised to take a 1-0 lead against the reigning World Test Champions. South Africa began the third morning seven down and only 63 ahead, seemingly headed for an inevitable defeat. But Temba Bavuma’s bravehearted resistance, a level of grit the Indian batters couldn’t match, turned the script on its head, powering South Africa to an unthinkable victory - their first Test win on Indian soil in 15 years.

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The Eden Gardens track had been under the scanner from Day 1, with its variable bounce troubling almost everyone, barring Bavuma. Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh slammed the wicket as “pathetic, utter nonsense”, while ex-England captain Michael Vaughan branded it “awful”. Yet, Gambhir, in the post-match press conference, said that this was precisely the pitch the management had asked for, and blamed the home team for their failure to "absorb the pressure".

"It was not an unplayable wicket. The point is that you should be able to know how to play turn. And this is what we asked for, and this is what we got. I thought the curator was very supportive," Gambhir said.

"We ask for the pitch to aid spinners from day one so that toss doesn't become crucial. Had we won the Test you wouldn't be asking or discussing so much about pitch. We've got the guys to deliver in any condition," he added.

Gambhir cited Bavuma's unbeaten knock of 55, the only half-century score in the match, and Washington Sundar's fighting 31 off 29 to to validate his argument.

"This is exactly the pitch we were looking for. There were no demons or not unplayable. Axar, Temba, Washington made runs. If you say this is a turning wicket, majority wickets were taken by seamers," he added.

Gambhir’s support for under-fire curator Sujan Mukherjee aligned with CAB president Sourav Ganguly’s statement that the Indian team itself had requested this type of pitch.

He added: "I still believe that irrespective of how the wicket was, 123 (124) was chaseable. And I felt that if you are willing to put your head down and if you have a solid defence, if you have the temperament, you can definitely score runs. Yes, it might not be a wicket that is going to be very flamboyant where you can play those big shots.

"But if you are willing to put your head down, definitely it's a wicket where you can score. I think the inconsistent bounce came into it a lot, both for seamers and spinners. But we always felt that if we could get those partnerships, if we could have a 50-run partnership or a 40-run partnership, we will be in the game. And we were at one stage having that kind of a partnership as well.

"When Dhruv and Washi (Sundar) were batting, and then when Washi and Jaddu were batting. So it's about, what, from 30 if you can get to that 60 run-partnership, that is where the game is. And again, it boils down to whether we have the ability at that time to absorb the pressure and keep breaking those big targets into those small targets"

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