Kolkata, Nov 16 (IANS) India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has defended the pitch curator amid the criticism of the Eden Gardens’ pitch, saying that they got ‘exactly’ what they had asked for and “there were no demons” in the wicket.

Reigning World Test Champions South Africa scripted a remarkable comeback and clinched a magnificent victory here at Eden Gardens on Sunday to go one up in the two-game Test series. The five-day match concluded on just the third day as the visitors made the most of the rank turner presented to them.

“This is exactly the pitch we were looking for. I feel the curator was very helpful, and this is exactly what we wanted and exactly what we got. When you don’t play well, this is what happens,” Gambhir said at the post-match press conference.

“There were no demons in this wicket. It was not unplayable. Temba Bavuma scored runs, and Axar and Washi also scored runs. The point is, there is no use talking about the pitch all the time. The majority of the wickets have gone to seamers. I don’t think it was a difficult wicket. This was a surface where your technique was tested, your mental toughness was challenged, and if you had the temperament to grind and bat long, you could score runs. But if you tried to play attacking cricket, then it became difficult,” he added.

South Africa mounted an impressive comeback after their first innings collapse at 159, following their decision to bat first. Their bowlers excelled on Day 2, with Harmer especially standout, allowing India only a narrow lead of 30 runs. In the second innings, South Africa’s batting faltered, ending at 93/7 by the end of Day 2, positioning the hosts as favourites entering Day 3.

Captain Temba Bavuma played superbly against the Indian spinners on this challenging pitch, becoming the only player in the match to score a fifty. His performance helped South Africa add 60 runs to their overnight total, setting India a target of 124 runs- an achievable but difficult task.

Gambhir, however, refused to blame the batters for the loss and stating that the team “wins together and loses together.”

“It’s a tough one. I, I honestly don’t believe in giving marks and it’s not right on my part to give marks out of 10 and all that stuff. I’ve said it before, we lose together, we win together. It’s not fair that we start putting the blame on the battles as well. I think they’ve tried everything possible. They gave everything they had. But yes, we still need to keep getting better if you want to play on these kind of games,” Gambhir added.

–IANS

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