“Well, they haven’t yet requested it. I will therefore be unable to respond to the query. According to India Today, Ganguly remarked, “It looks like a very good wicket.”
The management of the Indian team has not asked for a rank turner for the first Test of the two-match series against South Africa, which kicks off at the Eden Gardens on Friday, November 14, according to Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Sourav Ganguly.
Given that the visitors have a skilled spin attack, there has been conjecture on the type of surface India may create. In the company of batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, India head coach Gautam Gambhir toured the Eden surface on Monday morning after returning from Australia on Sunday night with members of the white-ball team.
Later in the day, before the ground crew covered the entire square to shield it from dew and potential rain, Ganguly also inspected the wicket.
Two Ranji Trophy matches have already taken place at Eden Gardens this season, and both times the surfaces appeared to be slower with little early support for fast bowlers. Before Mohammed Shami’s pivotal spell turned the tide of the match, Bengal’s pace-led assault had trouble against Uttarakhand.
Sujan Mukherjee, curator of CAB, expressed satisfaction with the pitch’s current state despite the fact that it hasn’t been watered since Saturday. Gambhir seemed happy with what he saw during his inspection, he added. According to Mukherjee, Gambhir asked when the surface would start to give turn and was told that spinners could start to be used on the third day.
In the past, the Eden wicket has not been known to generate a lot of spin right away. Before settling into a surface that is conducive to batting, it frequently gives seamers a little movement throughout the first hour. Mukherjee pointed out that depending on the temperature and wear, help for spinners might arrive sooner.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj will lead South Africa’s strong spin assault, which will also include off-spinner Simon Harmer and left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy. In their most recent drawn Test series against Pakistan, the three of them gave excellent performances. Meanwhile, India will continue to think about their loss to New Zealand in Pune last year, when Mitchell Santner’s 13 wickets helped the Black Caps win their first Test series on Indian soil.
After India’s maiden day-night Test match against Bangladesh in November 2019, this will be the first Test to be held at Eden Gardens in six years. To commemorate the event, the CAB has organized a number of activities. Ganguly confirmed that 34,000 tickets have already been sold, indicating that ticket sales have been robust, especially during the first three days of the event.
Sunil Gavaskar will be the keynote speaker at the Dalmiya Memorial Lecture, which will take place the night before the game. For the toss, a unique coin with Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi on it has also been produced.
India
