Sticky wicket | Tanmoy Mookherjee
If ever a cricket ground was built for restoring lost pride, it would be the Eden Gardens. Not only has it done it for the Indian team, the fledgling potential of its players has also been recaptured repeatedly. Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman would vouch for it.
It didn't take a Kanpur-like wicket, nor did it take dubious umpiring decisions this time, but solid performances from India's seasoned pros was what it took to clinch a thrilling series levelling victory to retain their top spot in the ICC rankings. Continue reading below
Morne Morkel and Hashim Amla were determined to turn it around for the South Africans, the kind of solid resistance which denied them victories in their recent series against England. And with Zaheer Khan unable to bowl, it was left to India's spin department which has been under fire for its ineffectiveness.
Coming in with not only the No. 1 ranking but an enviable home record on the line, Harbhajan Singh snapped South Africa's fightback just when it looked to be an exercise in futility. Morkel's wicket was his fifth of the innings which rounded off five absorbing days of Test cricket.
It may have been the the last eighteen months that India surged towards the No. 1 spot, but a relentless pursuit of the top sides in world cricket began at the turn of the century on the very same ground. Messrs VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh had stopped Australia on their tracks, and they came to the fore at the beginning of this decade. The romance at the Eden continued with an emphatic encore.
Which begs to a pertinent and recurring question: why don't India host more Test matches at the Eden? A boisterous crowd at one of the largest cricket venues in the world was encouraging even at the time of dwindling numbers. Have the biggest home support, will win Test matches.
