The Kolkata pitch on which South Africa beat India inside three days last month has received a “satisfactory” rating from ICC match referee Richie Richardson. The rating means Eden Gardens avoids any sanction for a pitch that attracted widespread censure.
“Satisfactory” is the second level of the ICC’s four-tier pitch rating system, between “very good” and “unsatisfactory”, with “unfit” slotting in at the lowest level. These ratings have been a topic of much interest this week, after the MCG pitch received an “unsatisfactory” rating and a demerit point following the Boxing Day Ashes Test that ended in two days.
Uneven bounce was a feature of the Kolkata Test right from its first over, and sharp turn became more and more frequent as the match went on. The pitch weaponised both seamers and spinners, with offspinner Simon Harmer and left-arm quick Marco Jansen playing key roles in South Africa’s win and India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah picking up a five-wicket haul on the first day. Neither team passed 200 even once, and India, chasing a fourth-innings target of 124, were bowled out for 93.
The pitch was a source of debate right through the match and its aftermath. India head coach Gautam Gambhir said it was “exactly the pitch we were looking for” in his post-match press conference, only for batting coach Sitanshu Kotak to contradict him before the second Test in Guwahati.
Gambhir, Kotak said, had only made that claim to protect the Eden Gardens curator Sujan Mukherjee, and suggested that India were surprised by the uneven bounce, and had certainly not asked for it. The Guwahati Test was played on a far truer pitch, and South Africa won again to seal a 2-0 series scoreline.
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