"This Is What We Asked For": Gambhir Silences Pitch Row With Blunt Reply

India head coach Gautam Gambhir had to deal with some tough questions in the press conference after his team suffered a 30-run defeat in the first Test against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Indian team arrived in the series opener as the outright favourites, hoping to make the most of the surface that had plenty to offer to both pacers and spinners. In the press conference, Gambhir had no qualms in admitting that the Eden Gardens pitch was exactly what the Indian team wanted, hence, the defeat was purely down to the players' application.

Odd bounce and lateral movement became visible quite early on the pitch, making former cricketers, pundits, and fans question India's intent behind the request to prepare such a pitch. Some even criticised the curator Sujan Mukherjee, but Gambhir said that he was 'very helpful' in preparing the sort of wicket that India demanded. 

"The majority of wickets went to the seamers," Gambhir said when asked about the dominance of spinners in the match. "No, the point is that you should be able to know how to play turn. And this is what we asked for, and this is what we got. I thought the curator was very supportive."

"I still believe that irrespective of how the wicket was, 123 (124) was chaseable. And I felt that if you are willing to put your head down and if you have a solid defence, if you have the temperament, you can definitely score runs. Yes, it might not be a wicket that is going to be very flamboyant where you can play those big shots.

"But if you are willing to put your head down, definitely it's a wicket where you can score. I think the inconsistent bounce came into it a lot, both for seamers and spinners."

When asked about the nature of the pitch the Indian team wanted for the Test, Gambhir responded with a sharp retort. "This is exactly the pitch. And I feel that, as I just mentioned before, 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.

Asked about India's approach going into the second session, Gambhir said that the focus was on building partnerships. But, with the team playing a man short, due to Shubman Gill's absence, there was additional pressure on the batters.

"But we always felt that if we could get those partnerships, if we could have a 50-run partnership or a 40-run partnership, we will be in the game. And we were at one stage having that kind of a partnership as well.

"When Dhruv and Vashi were batting, and then when Vashi and Jaddu were batting. So it's about, what, from 30 if you can get to that 60 runs partnership, that is where the game is. And again, it boils down to whether we have the ability at that time to absorb the pressure and keep breaking those big targets into those small targets," Gambhir asserted.

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