ICC rates Eden Gardens pitch for India-South Africa Test as 'satisfactory'

The Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata, used for the first Test between India and South Africa last month, has been rated as satisfactory by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The fixture ended inside three days, with India losing the low-scoring match by 30 runs, failing to chase 124.

The Kolkata strip offered inconsistent bounce right from the onset, and the grip off the surface grew progressively as the game went on, with off-spinner Simon Harmer and left-arm pacer Marco Jansen exploiting the conditions to good effect to restrict India. Neither team could cross 200 even once across the four innings, with South Africa posting scores of 159 and 153, while India managed 189 and 93.

"This is exactly the pitch we were looking for. This is exactly the pitch And I feel that the curator was very, very helpful. And this is exactly what we wanted. And this is exactly what we got. When you don't play well, this is what happens," coach Gautam Gambhir had said after India’s loss, only for batting coach Sitanshu Kotak to contradict his views later, suggesting that “no one wanted what happened”, adding that Gambhir said what he did only to prevent the curators from being blamed.

"When Gautam came for the press conference after the match and took all the blame on himself -- he said we had asked for [that pitch] -- he did that because he felt the curators shouldn't be blamed," Kotak had said in the pre-match press conference in Guwahati, the venue for the second Test.

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly was also critical of India’s choice with the pitch, suggesting that the team has enough potential and the management need not rely on curating overly assistive pitches.

"Play on good wickets. I hope Gautam Gambhir is listening. I have got a lot of regard for him... but he must play on good wickets. Because he has got (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Siraj, (Mohammed) Shami, Kuldeep (Yadav) and (Ravindra) Jadeja," he had said.

As for the pitch ratings, the ICC follows a four-tier system: “satisfactory” rating falls between "very good" and "unsatisfactory", while “unfit” is the fourth and poorest rating granted.

The track used in Guwahati was far truer and balanced, with the game going until the final day. The Guwahati track has been rated “very good”.