The Ganguly hand in Eden’s blazing deck
In the era of neutered Indian pitches which typically leave pacers disgruntled and batsmen upbeat, only few strips can tick the boxes required to call it ‘sporting’. Eden Gardens is one of them. Give the pitch an overcast sky and moisture created due to staying under covers for hours and it can make the ball talk. Suranga Lakmal did just that.
While La km al’ s exploits might have caught India off guard, the one person who could have predicted India’s early wobble apart from Eden Gardens curator Sujan Mukherjee has to be Sourav Ganguly. In what is slowly starting to look like a trend, no batsman can breathe easy on an Eden Gardens pitch while Gangulyi sp resident of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).
Ask Shikhar Dhawan, who played away from his body on Thursday. Last time he took stance at Eden Gardens in a Test, against New Zealand in September, 2016, he was surprised by a delivery that took off the pitch to almost crack his thumb.
Even home boy Wriddhiman S ah a wasn’ t allowed to beat ease with deliveries flying past his head last year. Virat Kohli had bravely labelled the pitch as a ‘brilliant Test wicket’ after India secured a series win. This time, K oh li may reserve his opinion till the rubber ends at Kotla.
Ganguly, meanwhile, could allow himself a chuckle or two. Since retirement, Ganguly has consistently pitched for rules that allow pace rs to wield more influence. Home advantage isn’ tGanguly’s favourite word. And though his‘ neutral venue’ experiment was junked after just one season in the Ranji Trophy, there is one ground where his word still means the last.
So buckle your seats for what could be a fascinating test between bat and ball. If the last year’s Test --- 15 lbws, 300 crossed just once,Bhuv ne sh war Kumar scalping 5/48 and several batsmen getting bodily hit --- is any yardstick, seamers could find their feet here again. Two-paced nature of the pitch will lead to variable bounce in some time. And that means bats men have to be alert against even the most innocuous bowler.
Suddenly, in what was billed as a boring Test series, Eden has added perspective for Indian batsmen in just 11.5 overs. India are still favourites to win the series. But the struggle here could prepare them for the fight in South Africa in January. Given the tours lined up next year, India would have Ganguly to thank if they leave Eden with something apart from a predictable win.
GANGULY HAS PITCHED FOR RULES THAT ALLOW PACERS TO WIELD MORE INFLUENCE. HOME ADVANTAGE ISN’T HIS FAVOURITE WORD.