Former India opener turned commentator Sunil Gavaskar has commented on the pitch discourse doing the rounds after India’s shock defeat to South Africa in the opening Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata as well. Gavaskar, however, backed Gautam Gambhir, claiming that the batters did not bat well and 124 could have been chased on the track as well.

Speaking to India Today, the veteran Gavaskar said: “Totally agree with Gautam Gambhir. 124 was chaseable on this pitch. There was no question about it. A lot of people are talking about what the pitch was doing, but if you had a look at what Simon Harmer was doing in an over, how many of his deliveries were turning? He was mixing it up really well. He bowled straight and got the odd one to turn. So, it was not a vicious turning pitch. It was a pitch on which you needed to bat as if you were playing a five-day Test, not a 50-over match or a Twenty20 where, after three dot balls, you try to play a break-out-of-jail shot. That’s the issue. One hundred and twenty-four should have been chased with at least five wickets in hand with the kind of batting line-up India had.”

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Gavaskar also added that Team India only needed to draw a leaf out of Temba Bavuma’s defiant innings of 55 as well.

“The Indian batters had the example of Temba Bavuma. You may forget what happened the previous day, but Bavuma had played an innings of exceptional character just hours earlier. He batted with real temperament, technique, and dedication. That should at least have been at the back of their minds,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.