Sourav Ganguly, president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, stated on Monday that the Indian team management has not requested a rank turner for the first Test of the two-match series against South Africa, which starts on Friday at the Eden Gardens.
On Monday morning, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and India head coach Gautam Gambhir examined the Eden pitch after arriving late on Sunday with members of the team that participated in the white-ball series in Australia.
When asked if the Indian team management had requested for a turning wicket, Ganguly said, “Well, they haven’t asked for it yet. So, I won’t be able to answer the question. It looks a very good one.”
So far this season, the Eden Gardens has played host to two Ranji Trophy games and the tracks have played slowly, providing pacers with minimal support.
On the first day of their match, Bengal’s pace-heavy attack struggled to gain ground against Uttarakhand before Mohammed Shami’s enchanted spell turned Bengal’s fortunes around.
CAB curator Sujan Mukherjee expressed satisfaction with the pitch’s preparation, despite the fact that it hasn’t been watered since Saturday. Gambhir was “happy to see the wicket” during his assessment, he added.
Mukherjee claims that when the head coach of India asked when the pitch would begin to help spinners, he said that turn might be anticipated “from day three.”
The Eden has never been a rank-turner in history, and after providing some support throughout the first hour of play, it becomes batting-friendly.
“It’s going to be a good sporting wicket with help for both batters and bowlers. There will be assistance on offer for the spinners as well, and that can happen early as well,” Mukherjee said.
South Africa, the current World Test Champions, have a potent spin arsenal spearheaded by left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, with help from left-armer Senuran Muthusamy and off-spinner Simon Harmer. During their most recent 1-1 Test series match with Pakistan, the trio made an impact.
The lessons learned from their loss to New Zealand last year, when Mitchell Santner’s 13-wicket haul propelled the Black Caps to a 113-run victory in the second Test in Pune, resulting in their first-ever Test series victory in India, will also be in the minds of the Indian team think tank.
The host association also doesn’t want to take any chances as the Eden Gardens will host a Test match for the first time in six years. India’s first-ever day-night Test against Bangladesh in November 2019 was the last Test held at the iconic venue.
The CAB intends to make the event one to remember. According to Ganguly, at least the first three days of ticket sales have been positive.
“Thirty-four thousand priced tickets have been sold out as we expect a good turnout,” he said.
On the eve of the game, the CAB will also hold the Dalmiya Memorial Lecture, with batting star Sunil Gavaskar announced as the keynote speaker.
According to Ganguly, a unique coin with Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi on either side has been minted for the toss to honor the historic series.
