The fallout from India’s shock defeat to South Africa in the first Test at Eden Gardens has triggered a fierce reaction from a lot of cricketers across the cricket fraternity. However, former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has stepped forward in support of head coach Gautam Gambhir. Under the spotlight has been the sharply turning surface prepared for the match that Gambhir openly admitted to having requested.

India’s strategy was to prepare a spin-friendly track to challenge South Africa’s batting line-up. Instead, their plan backfired spectacularly. Chasing a target of 124, Indian batters succumbed to the same spinning conditions, being bowled out for 93 as South Africa finished the proceedings inside three days.

“Totally agree with Gautam Gambhir. 124 was chaseable on this pitch. No question about it,” Sunil Gavaskar told India Today.

“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,” he added.

“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.

“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? "People are calling it a spinning pitch. It was nothing vicious. Poor technique and poor temperament have landed us in this situation,” Gavaskar added.

Simon Harmer was the main tormenter for India, taking eight wickets across both innings to put South Africa on top.