In a rank turner on Day 3, India needed 124 runs to chase. However, the wickets fell like pins when Simon Harmer and Co. caused great damage. The hosts were bowled out for 93. This turned out to be the second lowest target they failed to chase down in the history of Test cricket. Apart from Washington Sundarwho scored 31 off 92 balls, no other batsman showed the determination required to survive in the Test conditions.
“If we see first the wicket, then the scores and then the result in Kolkata, it can only be attributed to the modern techniques of batsmen…Batters now grow up to hit sixes and play change hits. They do not grow up to build an innings and learn the art of survival,” wrote Pietersen on ‘X’.
Pietersen, however, refrained from criticizing the players and explained how the affinity for financial returns has overshadowed the art of survival against quality spin bowling.
“The player is not to blame at all. The priority in the game now is not about survival or the art of playing a spinning ball. The game of cricket is now about bright lights, loud music and a financial return for cricket boards, private equity and private ownership,” the former England batsman added.
4:09 PM · November 16, 2025
Prepare a pitch like that and you deserve to lose: Michael Vaughan
Meanwhile, another former England captain, Michael Vaughan, criticized the Indian team and said they deserved to lose after preparing the kind of pitch they did against world Test champions South Africa.
“Prepare a field like that and you deserve to lose against the world test champions…brilliant win by SA…” Vaughan wrote on X.
4:26 PM · November 16, 2025
South Africa have now taken a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. The second Test will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati from Saturday, November 22.
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