India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has said that the pitch curator at the Eden Gardens, the infamous Sujan Mukherjee, was very supportive and the team was provided with the type of track they asked for, although it backfired on them and handed them a 30-run defeat to South Africa.

Chasing a modest 124, India lacked the composure and clarity that Proteas captain Temba Bavuma had shown earlier, collapsing to 93 all out in 35 overs. With skipper Shubman Gill hospitalised because of a neck injury, he was unavailable to bat on Day 3.

On a track expected to aid Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, it was South Africa off-spinner Simon Harmer who proved decisive, claiming a match haul of eight wickets.

“This pitch is what we asked for and this is what we got; the curator here was very

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