After days of fervent debates over its nature, the Eden Gardens pitch for the opening Test between India and South Africa revealed its true self quite early on Friday.
The second ball of the game, a back-of-a-length delivery from Jasprit Bumrah, surprised everyone by scooting low and squirming past keeper Rishabh Pant for four byes. The very next ball kicked on from length, thumping Aiden Markram high on his bat.
The Indian bowlers went on to harness this inconsistent bounce to devastating effect, as they bundled out South Africa for just 159, with Bumrah leading the charge with a fifer.
The Indian pace ace delved into the process by which the Indian side figured out the surface and reaped dividends from it during the media interaction after Day 1.
“When I bowled the first over, everything happened. The ball swung, it stayed low, it went high. It was a little difficult to understand the right length. So, you keep bowling and you keep figuring things out. Okay, it is shaping in this manner.
“So that was my reading initially, in the first three or four balls, everything happened. One ball kicked, one ball went low. Where do you go? So then you see, okay, this is the way it is shaping,” Bumrah said.
ALSO READ: Inconsistent bounce at Eden Gardens hurt South Africa, says batting coach Ashwell Prince
He suggested that the pitch’s unpredictability resides primarily in the hardness of the ball.
“Basically, it is a harder ball game. So, when the ball is nice and hard, the deviation would be a little quicker. As in when the ball becomes softer, the deviation lessens. And then your accuracy comes into play.
“When the ball became softer, it settled down. It was not happening a lot, and the deviation was not consistent. So, then we realised, yes, when the ball is nice and hard, the seam is pronounced. It will do a little more, and then when the ball becomes softer. It will become slightly easier,” Bumrah added.
His effort on Friday was his 16th Test fifer, but only his third in India in the format.
“Whenever you play in India, it is known that spinners will pick up a lot of wickets. So, whenever you can make an impact, [it is] with limited overs, because we know we have a majority of spinners in our line-up. So, you will come in short bursts. It always feels good whenever you do that. So yeah, very happy with the performance,” Bumrah said.
Published on Nov 14, 2025