Cheteshwar Pujara Angry: Former Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara reacts to India’s loss in the first test against South Africa at the Eden Gardens. Temba Bavuma’s led team won the first test by 30 runs, finishing the five-match test in just three days. Pujara, for the first time ever, lost his cool when he talked about the loss, blaming the wicket as the main reason for the defeat.
On Day 1 the Indian team bowled out South Africa for 159 runs, but their own innings also stumbled, and they were able to score only 189 runs, taking a lead of just a few runs. After that, South Africa put up a score of 153 runs in the second innings, giving India a target of 124 runs. At the start the chase looked chaseable, but the Shubman Gill-led team failed to do so.
By this defeat many questions were raised on the pitch of Eden Gardens, because the pitch was created as per the request of Gautam Gambhir and the management.
Cheteshwar Pujara Angry After The 1st Test Loss
Pujara stated that he can’t accept that India lost due to a transition phase. Under Shubman Gill’s captaincy, the squad features many young players, but he insisted that losing at home is unacceptable no matter if it’s a transition phase.
He said,
“I do not agree that just because of the transition, India will lose at home. I cannot digest the fact that India will lose at home. It is okay if they lose in Australia or England, but with the talent this new team possesses, India losing at home is not acceptable.”
Further, he added that the records of these youngsters in first-class cricket are tremendous; failures do happen, but they should not happen on home pitches.
He said,
“Look at the first-class records of all the players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar—every one of them has such a good record.”
“If We Are Losing, It Means Something Is Wrong”: Cheteshwar Pujara
Pujara highlighted that pitch preparations are the key reason for India’s downfall at Eden Gardens, stating that even India’s A side could beat South Africa on a fair surface.
He said,
“Despite that, if we are losing, it means something is wrong. If we played this match on a good wicket, then India might have won the game. So how do you define Test cricket? On this type of pitch (Eden Gardens), the opponent gets an equal opportunity as us. So play on good pitches. We have so much talent that even India A can win a match against South Africa. So hearing that India lost because of transition is not an excuse at all.”
At the moment, South Africa is leading in the series by 1-0; the second test will be played on November 22, and it will be a series decider. If India wins that match, then the series could be a draw at 1-1, but if South Africa wins, then they will be sealing the series at 2-0.
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