Eden Disaster: Key Mistakes That Cost Team India the First Test vs South Africa!
India’s shock defeat to South Africa at Eden Gardens explained poor batting, weak planning, and wrong team selection cost the hosts dearly.
Team India has suffered its first
major setback in the World Test Championship. Playing at home, India has lost the first Test match to South Africa. The match
was played on the famous Eden Gardens ground. South Africa had set a target of
only 124 runs, but India failed to chase it. This Eden pitch not only
offered massive turn but also uneven bounce. Generally, on such pitches,
chasing in the fourth innings is extremely difficult, but failing to chase just
124 clearly shows that Indian batsmen lack the technique and patience
required for such conditions. Irfan Pathan also posted on ‘X’ about India’s
poor batting performance.
Yes, luck does play a role on such
pitches, but as a batsman, being technically strong is equally important. A few
months ago, after losing the home series 3-0 against New Zealand, India has
once again started a series with a loss at home and this time against South
Africa. Fans are furious, and most of the criticism is directed at the poor
pitch and head coach Gautam Gambhir. The pitch may have contributed
to the loss, but there are a few other reasons as well. Today we will discuss three
unignorable reasons behind India's defeat.
1. Poor Batting
in Both Innings
When South Africa got all out for just
159 in the first innings, India needed to take a big lead to ensure they
wouldn’t have to bat again or the target would remain under 100. Although the
pitch had started turning from Day 1 itself, India should still have managed 250–270
runs in the first innings. But the batting looked rushed and careless.
In the first innings, if you look at
the dismissals of Jaiswal, KL Rahul, and Jurel, it is clear that the
balls they got out to could have been played better with proper technique on
such pitches. Had they shown more discipline, the match situation could have
been very different. In the second innings, on such tricky pitches, one or two
top-order batsmen must play controlled attacking cricket to put pressure
on the bowlers. But both Indian openers failed miserably to provide a good
start. Even worse were the dismissals of Pant, Jadeja, Jurel, and Axar.
These four didn’t get out because of the pitch but due to poor technique and
zero game awareness. Pant hit the ball straight back to the bowler, Jadeja
committed too early on the front foot and had no escape from LBW, Jurel
threw away his wicket to a short pitch ball and Axar, despite scoring 16
runs in the same over through boundaries, got greedy and lost his wicket trying
for another boundary.
2. The First Hour
of Day 1 and the First Hour of Day 3
This sub-headline may surprise you,
but India lost the match largely because of the first hour on both Day 1 and
Day 3. In our earlier article, we discussed how India has been leaking too many
runs in a single session in recent Test matches. The same happened against
South Africa. In the first hour of Day 1, India conceded runs at nearly 6
per over. Ideally, the score after the first 10 overs should have been 25–35,
but South Africa raced to 55–60.
The same issue resurfaced on Day 3.
South Africa were under pressure at 93/7, but in the first hour of Day
3, they managed to add 50–52 quick runs, capitalizing on India’s weak
bowling performance. This may sound like a small number, but on such pitches,
these runs are extremely important. Another poor decision was made by Vice-captain
Rishabh Pant, who didn’t give a single over to Jasprit Bumrah at
the start of Day 3. Both Cricket Journalists and Fans are heavily
criticizing this decision.
3. Wrong Team
Selection
After the loss, coach Gautam Gambhir said in the press conference that the team wanted to play on such a pitch. This means the team management already knew the pitch would offer heavy turn and uneven bounce. Despite this, playing four spinners and a total of six bowlers was a completely wrong call. On such pitches, when you go with six bowlers, at least two of them will not be utilized properly. Instead, the team needed an extra specialist batsman to strengthen the batting lineup. It’s difficult to understand why the management chose more bowlers over batsmen on a bowler-friendly pitch. Perhaps the management trusts all-rounders more than pure batsman, which is why they went with such a playing XI.
Regardless of the reasons, India
must win the second Test at all costs, or the situation could become
similar to the New Zealand series. This defeat will also have a significant
impact on the WTC points table. The second Test will be played in Guwahati.
We don’t know what kind of pitch India will demand, but hopefully, the team
will review its decisions seriously.
Captain Shubman Gill’s chances of
playing are also slim. BCCI has posted an update on ‘X’ about Gill, whose
screenshot has been shared below. Now the question is, among Sai Sudharsan,
Devdutt Padikkal, and Nitish Reddy, who will make in the playing XI? If Sai
Sudharsan plays, will Washington Sundar bat at No. 3 or lower? If Padikkal
plays, he might take the No. 4 spot due to Gill’s absence. Changes are also
expected in the bowling department, and India may go with five bowlers
this time.
There are many questions, and it will
be interesting to see how Team India finds solutions in the upcoming Test
match.
Thank You.
