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Former England captain Michael Vaughan stirred the pot, saying “India deserved to lose” the Kolkata Test against South Africa after the hosts opted to prepare a sub-standard pitch. The first Test of the two-match series concluded in less than three days with India failing to chase down the total of 124, bundling out for 93 after Simon Harmer’s four-wicket haul. It is also important to state that the hosts were without captain Shubman Gill, who had to be hospitalised midway through the contest due to a neck spasm.
The Proteas captain, Temba Bavuma, led from the front, being the only batter in the game to hit a fifty. His unbeaten 55-run knock in the second innings helped South Africa set a target of 124 in front of India.
Ever since the Test began between the two sides, the Kolkata track came under scrutiny after 26 wickets fell in the first two days. There was a variable bounce on offer, and the colour of the pitch was significantly different at one end compared to the other.
After India lost the opening Test, Vaughan took to X, saying it was a fantastic win for South Africa, but the hosts were deserved losers for preparing a pitch “like that.”
“Prepare a pitch like that and you deserve to lose against the World Test champs …. brilliant win by SA …. #INDvSA,” Vaughan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Earlier, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly confirmed that the track had not been watered for days prior to the Test, as the Indian camp had requested a turning pitch.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir later confirmed this claim, saying the pitch curator acted just like he and the rest of the management wanted. He also defended the team’s desire to have a pitch like this despite India losing 3-0 against New Zealand at home last year on similar tracks.
India’s dismal home record
Under Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as the head coach, India have lost four Tests at home and all of these defeats have come in the last six matches. Gambhir is yet to see a series win in Tests against the SENA countries.
Gambhir has already witnessed series defeats against New Zealand and Australia, while the contest against England earlier this year ended in a 2-2 draw. India can no longer defeat South Africa in the two-match series, after the Proteas gained a 1-0 lead.
This defeat in Kolkata has also put India’s chances of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final in jeopardy.
India will now hope to draw level when they take the field against the Proteas in the second Test at the Barparsara Stadium in Guwahati, beginning Saturday, November 22.
