Kolkata Test: Temba Bavuma was the only batter to score a fifty in three innings at the Eden Gardens. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh slammed the quality of the Eden Gardens pitch in the ongoing first Test between India and South Africa after 26 wickets were felled within the first two days of play.
On the third day morning, South Africa were bowled out for 153, setting India a 123-run target on a ragged pitch. The hosts then lost opener Yashavi Jaiswal for a duck with captain Shubman Gill already ruled out of the Test with a neck injury.
Harbhajan, who had played a pivotal role in the famous Eden Gardens Test of 2001, snapping up 13 wickets, said such deteriorating pitches were detrimental to the health of Test cricket.
“Just two days are done and we are able to see which way the game is going,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel. “They have done RIP to Test cricket. I don’t think Test cricket has any value left. India played exceptionally well in England recently, everyone praised them. The pitches on which they played and how India fought back to win that is Test cricket, that is fun.”
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Harbhajan affirmed that even India batting legends Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli would have found it hard to tackle the conditions on the pitch. At the end of three innings in the match, only South Africa captain Temba Bavuma had registered a 40-plus score, finishing unbeaten on 55 in the third innings.
“This pitch is like, you pitch the ball here and it’s turning and going elsewhere. Batters hardly know what to do. Even the likes of Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar cannot survive on such pitches because one ball will keep low, bounce extra or turn viciously to get your wicket. So, technique is not coming into play, just the pitch,” he added.
“It’s been happening for years now,” he said. “When I talk about it, people tell me why do you speak about them. I don’t think we have seen such unprepared conditions. It’s not going the right way. It’s pathetic, utter nonsense to see this. They are making fun of the game,” lambasted the spin legend.
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