IND v SA 1st Test: Ashwell Prince reserves judgement on Eden Gardens pitch for after India’s innings

South African batting coach Ashwell Prince believes the inconsistent bounce offered by the Eden Gardens pitch didn’t work in his side’s favour on the first day of the series opener against India.

The away batters struggled to come to terms with the up-and-down pitch, as the Proteas crumbled to 159 in just 55 overs, effectively handing India an early upper hand in the game.

“I think probably after four or five deliveries in the first over, where one rolled and went for four byes, and then two or three balls later reeled up, the signs were there pretty early on that the bounce is not consistent,” said Prince at the press conference after the end of day’s play on Friday.

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Four of the Proteas’ top five managed to get past 20, but failed to kick on from there on, as the Indian bowlers prevented partnerships from developing.  

“Yeah, I think when you look at the scorecard, quite a few of them will be disappointed at getting to 20 or 30, and then getting out. We’ve got to give credit to the Indian bowlers, as a lot of the wickets were pretty good deliveries.“I don’t particularly believe that any of the batters grew in confidence because of the inconsistency of the bounce. And what can happen is that you don’t trust the surface as much as you should after spending an hour at the crease. And when you face a quality bowling attack, they usually get the ball in the danger area, and it does too much for you. Unfortunately, that’s been the case today,” said Prince.

Prince, though, opined that a judgment on the surface can’t be made until India finishes its first innings.

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“We don’t want to make any assumptions about the pitch before the Indians have a chance to bat on it. KL Rahul is 13 off nearly 60 deliveries. I know it’s an awkward period to bat, but it would suggest that it’s not a free-scoring pitch. Having said that, they still have nine wickets in hand,” said Prince.

Despite the state of the pitch and the potential deterioration in store, Prince wants his team not to look too deep into the game.

“There’s no rush for them [India] in terms of time. Obviously, from our point of view, we want them to have at least 150 to chase in the second innings, which means we have to keep that lead as small as possible. Hopefully, we can go and set something up in the second innings. But that’s a long way away. The first thing would be to get a couple of early wickets in the morning. And then see how the day unfolds,” added Prince.

Published on Nov 14, 2025