South Africa’s batting coach Ashwell Prince attributed his team’s poor performance on the first day of the opening Test against India at Eden Gardens to the unpredictable bounce of the pitch, which led to a lack of trust among the batsmen. The Proteas started brightly, but a devastating five-wicket haul from Jasprit Bumrah resulted in their collapse from a promising 57 without loss to a mere 159 all out within just over two sessions of play.
Prince noted that the inconsistency of the bounce became evident early on, saying that it hindered his players’ confidence. “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 explained. This erratic behavior of the pitch prevented the South African batsmen from feeling settled, even after getting starts.
Not only did South Africa have to face Bumrah’s fierce bowling — who ended with impressive figures of 5 for 27 — but they were also without their ace bowler, Kagiso Rabada, who is recovering from a rib injury. Prince remarked on the impact of Rabada’s absence, especially after witnessing Bumrah’s devastating performance. “KG is a world-class bowler, probably one of the top two or three seam bowlers in the world,” he said, emphasizing the significance of their top bowler on such a challenging surface.
He praised not only Bumrah but also other members of India’s bowling attack, saying, “It was a sensational bowling display,” and acknowledged that conditions favored the fast bowlers significantly. Despite the setbacks, Prince remained optimistic as South Africa looked ahead to their second innings. He indicated they would reassess their approach while maintaining their individual styles.
As for the pitch conditions, India concluded the day at 37 for one, with KL Rahul managing just 13 runs off 59 balls, highlighting the difficulty of scoring on the surface. Prince noted that while they aimed for India to set a target of at least 150 in their second innings, there remained a long way to go in the match. He approached questions about the pitch with caution, suggesting it’s too early for criticism after just one day’s play.
Looking forward, Prince expressed hope that South Africa could retrieve the game by capitalizing on early wickets in the morning sessions, emphasizing their determination to adapt to the conditions and improve their performance in the following innings.