NEW DELHI: India suffered a 30-run defeat in the first Test against South Africa at the Eden Garden in Kolkata, exposing their struggles against quality spin. Chasing a modest target of 124, the Indian batting lineup folded for just 93 runs. The contest wrapped up within two sessions on Day 3, triggering widespread criticism of both the pitch preparation and the team management’s decisions.Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh came down heavily on the pitch curator during his YouTube show, expressing concerns over the direction in which Test cricket is heading in the country. He stressed that surfaces like this are harmful for the future of the longest format.Washington Sundar was India’s top scorer in the second innings, contributing 31 runs against South Africa’s disciplined attack.“Test cricket has been completely RIP-ed. Rest in peace. I don’t think anything is left of Test cricket… at least Indian Test cricket. In England, the matches were fantastic. We praised how the pitches behaved there and how the boys won matches. That was real Test cricket – there was thrill, you could feel the effort. But this? These pitches are bad,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
“Wherever you bowl, the ball is turning unpredictably. The batter has no clue what to do. No matter how good your technique is – even if you are Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli – you won’t survive on such pitches. One ball will shoot up, another will stay low, another will spin absurdly and you’ll get out. Skill doesn’t matter here; only the pitch is deciding everything. And this isn’t new. This has been happening for years,” he added.India’s batting collapse and the sharp turn on offer throughout the Test have reignited the debate around pitch standards in the country, especially with matches ending far sooner than expected in the traditional format.
