IND vs SA: Cheteshwar Pujara Disagrees With Gautam Gambhir’s Assessment Of Kolkata Pitch, Says 'Can’t Blame Batters...'

IND vs SA 1st Test: Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has countered India head coach Gautam Gambhir's assertion that the Eden Gardens pitch wasn't challenging for batting, stating that the batting unit needs to find ways to adapt better and score runs on difficult pitches.

India suffered a 30-run defeat to South Africa in the first Test at Eden Gardens on Sunday. Gambhir had defended the pitch, stating it was exactly what India had asked and that the batters needed to show better application and strategy.

In a tough chase of 124, India could not reply to the queries posed by South Africa's bowlers, led by veteran off-spinner Simon Harmer's 4-21, and were all out for 93 in 35 overs. Without their regular captain Shubman Gill, who was ruled out of the Test match due to a neck injury requiring hospitalisation, India's batting tumbled like nine pins, with no batter reaching the 50-run mark.

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“I don’t quite agree with this point because, given the kind of pitch it was, you can’t just blame the batters. If you want to play on such surfaces, your preparation has to be different. I don’t think the Indian team was fully prepared, even though Gauti bhai was saying that this is the kind of wicket they wanted. This pitch was not easy for batting—that’s a fact,” Pujara said on Star Sports.

“The expectation was that the pitch would be a bit decent—there would be turn, but batting would still be possible. But that didn’t happen. In my opinion, if the Indian team wants turning pitches where the bowlers get assistance right from the first ball, then the batters need to change the way they prepare,” Pujara added.

Pujara also felt that batting coach Sitanshu Kotak should help the batters in being more aggressive with their footwork.

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"If the Indian team ends up playing more matches on surfaces like this, then where do the scoring opportunities come from? That is something that needs to be discussed in the team meeting."

"The batting coach will also have to speak to the batters. They need to use their feet, play the sweep shot, and play a little more positively on such pitches. You need to put the bowler under pressure, and that is something the Indian batters failed to do in this particular Test match," said the former batter.