India vs South Africa, 1st Test: Why Washington Sundar will be key on Eden Gardens pitch

Harbhajan was Eden’s chosen one. The next one, in the grand tradition of the ground’s affliction towards spinners, could be Washington Sundar, the lanky off-spinner who relies on drift and over-spin to purchase his wickets. Just like it once bestowed the blessings on Harbhajan. The second on the wicket-list is Anil Kumble, another over-spin virtuoso.

Washington, shockingly the most potent spinner in the series against New Zealand, has traits that reaped Harbhajan’s profit at Eden. He might not be as graceful as Harbhajan, not as nuanced in deception with his flight as him either, or boast variations like Ravi Ashwin, his immediate predecessor. He deceives batsmen with the less spectacular art of over-spin, unshakable discipline, and deceitful drift. His success in the New Zealand series (16 wickets at 14.12) owed less to the exceedingly spin-friendly conditions than to his own wit. Weave in his batting competence, his stocks have soared to the skies, so much so that he is an undroppable in the eleven, notwithstanding the tactical theme.

It might not be just destiny that aligned the romance of Eden and Harbhajan, and that could potentially ally Washington, too. The ground’s nature suited his virtues too. Unlike the black soil strips of Uttar Pradesh, the Eden has bounce and carry. The outright turner in the century has been an oddity (as was the green-top served for the Test against Sri Lanka in 2017, to prepare for the South Africa trip).

Harbhajan’s prime weapon in his peak, before the fingers caroused and shoulders withered, was the over-spin he coaxed off the surface with the fearsome rip he gave the ball and the revolutions it begat. When the breeze picked from the Hooghly in the afternoon, he harnessed its currents to produce drift. Similarly, the stroke-makers revelled in its ideal bounce, not too low to make batting laborious, not too steep to make it an ordeal.

The Eden, thus, would be the ideal strip in Gautam Gambhir’s mind. One that doesn’t turn from the first ball, reducing the game to a lottery and his men to spin-wrecks. One that has just enough help for the seamers with both the new and old ball; the first and last hours generally abet movement. The abrasive veneer of the practice wickets on the ground roughens up the ball and aids reverse swing. Mohammed Shami (23 at 19.39) and Umesh Yadav (18 at 16.05) have exemplary records. Lance Klusener and Javagal Srinath have taken eight wickets in an innings here. One that begins to turn from the third evening or so. “I think, just from the early looks at the wicket, it looks a good wicket that should spin later,” came Ryan ten Doeschate’s assessment. He added, “We are going to be relying a lot on our seamers to make early inroads in the first couple of days. And I guess that’s what you want from a really good Test wicket.”

A ‘good’ Test wicket is perhaps the most overused word in the build-up to a Test match anywhere in the world. Often, it begins with a quote from a curator or an official. They all sound the same: “There will be something for everyone. Pace, bounce, spin, movement, runs.” To varying degrees, his words turn out to be half true. After all, some elements would invariably play out. These are safe catchwords, because he doesn’t say it would turn a lot from the first ball, or the bounce would be frightening, or the swing would be enormous. It’s the turn of captains/coaches next, depending on who the microphone is thrust in the build-up days. “I think everybody talks about spin in India, but on both sides they’ve got world-class fast bowlers,” South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad chimed in. Often, pitch notes produce a Rashomon effect.

Nonetheless, some degree of turn is inevitable at Eden, or on most grounds in Asia. Home advantage is central to the game’s rich tapestry. But the concept of an ideal surface is variable and arbitrary. The slow turn at Kotla against the West Indies dismayed Gambhir as his men sweated to dismiss the West Indies on the fourth day. Sharp turn in Mumbai and Pune in the New Zealand series vexed him, for his batsmen couldn’t handle the extremity.

How the Eden strip behaves and how his team fares on it would set the pitch narrative in Gambhir’s reign. Washington could be one of his trusted lieutenants in the scheme. And potentially Eden’s chosen one, not because of an invisible thread of destiny but because of his gifts to thrive in typical conditions here.