Horror show at Eden Gardens as India lose by 30 runs to South Africa

It turned out to be a horror show at the Eden Gardens as India lost to South Africa by 30 runs in the first Test on Sunday. Imagine, playing at home, and the curator prepares a dirt track, not a Test standard wicket. It explodes straight on the face of the Indians, where skipper Shubman Gill was not present to shoulder responsibility. He was out with a neck spasm, so preening peacock Gautam Gambhir can take flak for this nightmare result.

Imagine, playing at home, where the advantage should be with the hosts. Perhaps, the Indians were carried away when Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets in the first innings. There was disaster bound to be in store, as the Indian batters floundered twice in a Test. Imagine, Gambhir’s experiment with truth, loading the side with six left handers, and all clueless. This is pathetic stuff, to lose a Test at home, where there are only two Tests in a series.

There can be no blame game at all, the flak has to be preserved for Gambhir. He had talked to the BCCI TV last week, gloating over the success of India in the T20 series in Australia. Obviously, Test preparation is different. South Africa are no minnows, having won the ICC Test Championship final against Australia in England this summer.

Indeed, if one man has shown he can lead with flair and efficiency, it is Temba Bavuma, the SA captain. He may have come in for criticism from Bumrah and wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant in the first innings. But on Sunday, Temba Bavuma would have had the last laugh as his bowlers fired out India for 93 runs. The man who pulled off the destruction act was Simon Harmer, a part-time spinner coming to bowl early. Being an off-spinner he was effective and used well by Bavuma, as he finished with four wickets for 21 runs in 14 overs. This kind of an analysis would have been more appropriate for the famous Indian spinners from the past.

Back to Gambhir and his experiment, it boomeranged. To play four left-arm spinners was crazy, leaving the batting so gullible. If it is true Gill was not a 100 per cent fit for the match, he should not have played at all. What message the Indian team management gave to the curator at Eden Gardens also needs to be probed.

There was celebration when Ravindra Jadeja was among the wicket takers on Saturday. Perhaps, he was also celebrating his migration from Chennai Super Kings to Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. The chatter in a Test match over the IPL was crazy. It is obviously a distraction where players are thinking about IPL deals when a Test match is on. Worse, Dhruv Jurel, brought in as a specialist batter, also flopped.

Gambhir has enough to worry about. He has been pompous and will now come in for criticism. Losing a Test match within three days at home is a disgrace. This was the worst advertisement for Test cricket at home. Imagine, how fans and broadcasters are weeping at such a pathetic show.