IND vs SA 1st Test: South Africa Coach Blames Eden's Whimsical 'Inconsistency Of Bounce' For Proteas' Struggles, Says 'You Don't Trust Surface...'

India vs South Africa 1st Test:South Africa's batting coach, Ashwell Prince, attributed his team's struggles to the unpredictable bounce and "trust" deficit it created on a tricky Eden Gardens pitch, citing it as a major factor in their collapse for 159 during day one of the opening Test here on Friday.

India took the day one honours on day one as Jasprit Bumrah's five-wicket haul ensured that South Africa crumpled from 57 for no loss to 159 all out in little over two sessions.

"I think the signs were there pretty early on that the bounce is not consistent," Prince said after the opening day's play.

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"Quite often what can happen is that when you expect batters to get to 20, 30 and grow in confidence, I don't particularly believe that any of the batters grew in confidence because of the inconsistency of the bounce," he added.

Prince told the variable bounce controlled his batters from ever feeling settled, even after getting starts.

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"What can happen is that you don't trust the surface as much as you should after spending an hour at the crease," said the South Africa coach.

South Africa started dazzlingly through Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton before Bumrah's spell (5/27) tore open their top order and revealed a pitch where the strokeplay became uneasy.

South Africa's coach said India's aggression offered no breathing space.

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"Of course, when you face a quality bowling attack, they can more often than not get the ball in the danger area and it does too much for you. And unfortunately, that's been the case today," he added.

(With PTI Inputs)