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India vs South Africa Kolkata Test: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has thrown his weight behind head coach Gautam Gambhir, blaming India's 30-run defeat to South Africa at the Eden Gardens on the batters' "poor technique" and "poor temperament".

India's hopes of a winning start to the series were dashed as South Africa's spinners - Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj- wrought havoc on the turning Eden Gardens pitch. Despite bundling out the visitors to 159 in the first innings and taking a 30-run lead, India batters struggled against the spin onslaught and eventually collapsed to 93 in pursuit of 124.

Gambhir was unapologetic and had no qualms declaring that the pitch was exactly what the team management wanted.

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"If you don't play well this is what happens. There were no demons in the wicket," Gambhir had asserted in the post-match press conference.

“Totally agree with Gautam Gambhir. 124 was chaseable on this pitch. There was no question about it. A lot of people are talking about what the pitch was doing, but if you had a look at what Simon Harmer was doing in an over, how many of his deliveries were turning? He was mixing it up really well. He bowled straight and got the odd one to turn," Gavaskar told India Today.

“So, it was not a vicious turning pitch. It was a pitch on which you needed to bat as if you were playing a five-day Test, not a 50-over match or a Twenty20 where, after three dot balls, you try to play a break-out-of-jail shot. That’s the issue. One hundred and twenty-four should have been chased with at least five wickets in hand with the kind of batting line-up India had," he said.

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Gavaskar applauded South Africa captain Temba Bavuma's gritty half-century, highlighting that the Indian batters should have taken a leaf out of his book.

“I fully agree with Gautam Gambhir that there was nothing wrong with the pitch. The oddball turned, on Day 3, that’s normal. How many of Maharaj’s deliveries turned? How many of Jadeja’s or Axar’s turned?" he added. “People are calling it a spinning pitch. It was nothing vicious. Poor technique and poor temperament have landed us in this situation," he said.

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