IND vs SA: Eden pitch under fire as players question dangerous variable bounce | Cricket News
Kolkata :Ryan Rickelton desperately tried to put his bat in front of his pad to a Jasprit Bumrah delivery that kept dangerously low, hitting him in the shins. A vociferous appeal followed in just the third over of South Africa’s second innings. If the opener expected the next delivery to come at the same height, he was in for a surprise. Bumrah’s next one, landing almost at the same spot, was like a shrapnel that rose sharply before ramming into Rickelton’s rib cage. Clearly, there is variable bounce, at least at the High Court end. India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted they were surprised by how fast this wicket had deteriorated. “When we saw the wicket yesterday morning, we knew there would be something for pace and spin. Just that, we didn’t expect it to deteriorate so quickly. It’s totally unexpected,” he said. South Africa spinner Simon Harmer, who grabbed four wickets, also spoke about inconsistent turn. “On this pitch, we need to find ways to score and get bowlers off their length. But the inconsistent turn makes it difficult. It’s about being positive on a wicket that doesn’t allow you to,” he said.
Harmer, however, added this was not the worst Indian wicket he had played on. “In 2015, the Mohali wicket disintegrated on the first day and the Nagpur one was equally tough,” he said. South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince was quite scathing in his assessment of the wicket. “I think the signs were there pretty early on that the bounce is not consistent,” Prince had commented after Friday’s play. “The batters did not grow in confidence because of the inconsistency of the bounce. And you don’t trust the surface as much as you should after spending an hour at the crease.” Prince spoke about the doubts that the Eden surface could create in batters’ minds, but he did not term it a risk for the batters. “Perhaps it created some doubt about hitting the ball over the top. Is the bounce going to be low? That’s what influences people’s minds while they’re out there,” Prince said. Even Jasprit Bumrah had spoken about this inconsistency. “Everything was happening in my first over. There was swing, the ball was rising, keeping low,” he said with a touch of bewilderment. “We needed to understand the wicket first,” he said.
