Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President and current Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President, Sourav Ganguly, has shared a crucial piece of advice with the India National Cricket Team head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Sourav Ganguly advised Gautam Gambhir to play home Test matches on good pitches and move away from the idea of spin-friendly tracks if they want the results to go in their favour.
Play on good wickets. I hope Gautam Gambhir is listening – Sourav Ganguly
The pitch at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata became the biggest talking point during the first Test match of the two-match series between India and South Africa.
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India prepared a spin-friendly track for the match, but this strategy heavily backfired, and they ended up suffering a horrible 30-run defeat in the game.
It was a nightmarish pitch to bat on, and the batters of both teams had a horrible time in the middle. Batting first, South Africa posted 159 on the board, and in response, India scored 189.
Then, the Proteas registered a score of 153 runs in their second innings to set a target of 124 for India and bowled out the opposition for 93 to seal a stunning win.
Speaking after the match, the CAB President Sourav Ganguly said that the Indian team under Gautam Gambhir should strictly start playing on good pitches.
“Play on good wickets. I hope Gautam Gambhir is listening,” Ganguly said, as quoted by NDTV.
He has done well for India as a coach – Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly showered rich praise on Gautam Gambhir and said that he has had a successful stint as head coach before emphasizing the importance of playing on good surfaces.
“I have got a lot of time for him. A lot of regard. He is a competitor. He has done well for India as a coach. But he must play on good wickets. Because he has got Bumrah, he has got Siraj, he has got Shami, he has got Kuldeep, he has got Jadeja.”
Notably, Gautam Gambhir was very blunt in the post-match press conference and didn’t blame the pitch for the defeat. He said that they got the track which they asked for, and it was batters’ failure which cost them the game.
He needs to take the wicket out of the game – Sourav Ganguly
Ganguly, meanwhile, further said that Gautam Gambhir should ensure that such tracks are made where batters are able to post 350-400 runs and trust his players to win matches in five days.
“He needs to take the wicket out of the game. Because if his batsmen are not putting up 350–400, he will not win Test matches. That’s the reason they won in England — because his batsmen put runs up on the board.”
“He must play on good wickets. And trust his people. And win Test matches in 5 days. Not in 3 days.”
Also Read: ‘India A can beat South Africa’: Cheteshwar Pujara attacks Gautam Gambhir after Kolkata Test loss
