World Cup 2023: Team India reach Kolkata ahead of South Africa clash; Rahul Dravid 'satisfied' with Eden Gardens track

Ahead of their 2023 World Cup match against South Africa on Sunday, Rohit Sharma-led India landed in Kolkata on Friday.

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While the Indian cricket team’s bus left for the hotel from the airport, head coach Rahul Dravid, fielding coach Vikram Rathour and bowling coach Paras Mhambhrey made a quick stop at the Eden Gardens to inspect the 22-yard strip.

According to news agency PTI, Dravid spent about 15 minutes at the Eden Gardens and took a look at the strip along with Ashish Bhowmick, BCCI’s head of grounds and pitches committee, and local curator Sujan Mukherjee.

Sans the two tracks, the entire outfield were under covers as there is forecast for unseasonal showers for the next two days. Thus, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) did not want to take a risk with the outfield.

While the average score at Eden has been around 215 plus during the two World Cup games, the legacy ground is known for producing good batting strip with reasonable help for seam bowlers.

“The head coach seemed satisfied with the track. We have produced good wickets at Eden. The bounce will be even and batters will get value for their shots. But bottomline is, one needs to play well. Sri Lanka got all out for 55. Was it a bad track?” CAB curator Mukherjee told PTI.

Many believe that inept batting from Bangladesh shouldn’t be an indicator of how the Eden track will play.

“The match would be played on the same track where Holland played Bangladesh. That was first game and after that some work has been done on the track. The grass kept is very minimal and Eden is always a black soil track.

“So it will be hard strip where one can hit through the line. This Indian line-up, if they bat first, can score 300 plus,” a CAB official who closely monitors pitch preparation said.

India have already qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup, with seven wins out of seven games. Their game against the Proteas at the Eden Gardens will be followed by their final league stage clash against Netherlands in Bengaluru on 12 November.

With inputs from PTI