Rahane vs Eden Garden Pitch Curator War Begins: KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane’s plea for a spin-friendly pitch at the Eden Gardens was quite vehemently cast aside by the pitch curator, Sujan Mukherjee, who asserted that the nature of the surface at the venue will not be altered “as long as I’m here.”
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, now led by Rahane, suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of RCB, who gunned down the target of 175 in only 16.2 overs, with Virat Kohli and Phil Salt blasting half-centuries at the top and making light work of the chase.
Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, KKR’s two premier spinners and their key cogs in their title-winning season last year, were largely ineffective, conceding 70 runs for two wickets in their eight combined overs.
After the loss, Rahane said at the post-match press conference, “We would love to see the pitch helping the spin bowlers, but again, this wicket was under cover for the last one-and-a-half days. Both the spinners we have, the quality they have—they can bowl in any kind of wicket, and I am sure they are confident as well.”
Pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee has responded to Rahane’s qualms with strong words. Speaking to RevSportz, Mukherjee said, “As long as I’m here, Eden Gardens pitch will not change.”
‘RCB spinners took four wickets between them’: Rahane vs Eden Garden Pitch Curator War Begins
During Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy era, the Eden pitch was known for its spin-friendly nature, assisting Gambhir’s Kolkata Knight Riders to make the Eden their fortress with the help of their spinners. But after Mukherjee took over in 2015, he overhauled the pitches and center square, making them batting and pace-friendly at times.
Mukherjee added, “As per the IPL rules and regulations, franchises have no say over the pitch. Ever since I have taken charge (as Eden curator), the pitches here have been like this. It was like this in the past. Things haven’t changed now, and it will not be altered in the future.”
He pointed out that RCB spinners Krunal Pandya, who was Man of the Match for his 3/29, and Suyash Sharma, who knocked over Andre Russell with a googly, were able to do well on the same surface.
“Their (RCB) spinners took four wickets between them. What did the KKR spinners do? Krunal Pandya got three wickets. Suyash Sharma turned the ball to castle Andre Russell.”
KKR’s next two matches are away from home: against RR in Jaipur and MI in Mumbai. Their next home game is on April 3rd, when they host SRH.
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