Sunil Gavaskar slams SENA media with turning-bouncy surface comparison

Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar slammed the SENA media following their examination of turning pitches after a total of 23 wickets fell on Day 1 of the second Test between India and South Africa at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town. Batting first, South Africa were bowled out for a mere 55 runs while India's innings went from 153/4 to 153 all out. Moreover, the Proteas lost three more wickets on the same day in the third innings, trailing India by 36 runs.

The SENA media has criticised turning pitches, considering the fall of wickets on the first day. Meanwhile, Gavaskar had no complaints about the pitch and blasted the SENA media's uncertainties. The 74-year-old claimed that a good batter can play well on rank turners as it will help them to exhibit all the shots.

"This is what Test cricket is all about. You are going to be tested. And I honestly believe I've always believed that if you cannot play on pitches where the ball turns into the batter, you know there is a tendency amongst the SENA country's media, particularly if you think that you know, if you can't play on fast, bouncy pitches, you're not a batter," Gavaskar told Star Sports.

"I'm sorry. You are not a batter if you can't play the turning pitch because over here for the bouncy pitch, there are two movements here. Therefore for spinners, where the ball is turning, you've got to go down the pitch. You've got to use the crease. All the shots can be exhibited.

"So that's you know what? I think, sadly, you know, our media should be actually writing about this. You know, our media should be talking about the fact that you know, but our media is so dependent sometimes not all the time on getting interviews with players, so they do not want to upset anybody. So they will not question the batting ability of some of the overseas guys because of that. But that's the way," the former cricketer added.

In addition, Aiden Markram reached the three-figure mark on Day 2, but his innings ended at 106 by Mohammed Siraj. Jasprit Bumrah was instrumental in the third innings as he finished with figures of 6/61 and they limited the hosts to 176. Yashasvi Jaiswal (28) blazed all guns at the start of the final innings, as India successfully chased down the target and registered a win by seven wickets and level the series 1-1.