Veteran Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane commented on the Kolkata pitch ahead of the second Test against South Africa as well. The second Test will take place on November 22 in Guwahati, while the first was played in Kolkata as well. However, India faced a 30-run defeat as the game ended in two and a half days as well.

“Whenever we have played in Kolkata, it has been a black soil wicket that has not helped spinners in the past. Fast bowlers have been in play, with the new ball and later reverse swing comes into play. But here the wicket was challenging. You expect rank turners in India in the last five to six years yes, but this was challenging for the batters. The bounce was low, carry was uneven. You can say as much you want from outside that stay at the crease, show good defense. But frankly, it was challenging,” he said on ‘Ash ki Baat’.

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While Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir asked the batters to step up after the first Test, Ajinkya Rahane defended the batters, saying that they were not used to playing on such wickets as well.

“In domestic cricket, we have played very less on turning wickets, to be frank. If you want to make turning wickets, it has to start from way before. You need to make the wickets similar in domestic cricket also then. In domestic you generally play on flat and seaming wickets. So you need different technique and preparation. So I don’t think it is the fault of the players. They have not played on such wickets, even in practice sessions it happens on good wickets,” he stated.

We do well outside because our preparation is good on seaming and bouncy wickets. But we don’t have the same preparation on turning wickets. So it is really challenging for the batters,” he concluded. “Yes, our spinners need to be in play at home. So if you want such wickets, put a camp 10 or 15 days before the Test series and start preparing for that.”