Kolkata: India’s left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel said the Eden Gardens surface was offering contrasting behaviour from either end, and noted that India would be confident chasing anything under 125, given the challenging nature of the pitch at the end of Day Two in the first Test against South Africa.
“Obviously, from one end, it feels like it’s going straight, but from the other end, too much of a turn and bounce is happening. I feel that you have to play attacking cricket as a batter, and only then can you make runs. With the way wicket is right now, if we can keep them under 125, it should be easy and chaseable,” Axar told broadcasters at the end of day two’s play.
He stressed that batters could not afford to settle into a defensive rhythm on such a two-paced pitch with uneven bounce. “When you get loose balls, you have to convert them into runs and keep an attacking mindset. It’s not like you can defend and then feel that you are set on this wicket because you are never really set on this wicket. So, whenever you get a ball outside off-stump or leg stump, you can look to do the sweep or reverse-sweep.” IANS
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