India, Nov. 17 -- The legendary Anil Kumble and Dale Steyn were left utterly baffled as India head coach Gautam Gambhir mounted a strong defence of the tough Eden Gardens pitch amid the raging criticism since Day 1 of the series opener against South Africa in Kolkata. While the former Proteas bowler disagreed with Gambhir's insistence that the pitch held "no demons," Kumble, a former India head coach himself, was left "confused" as his compatriot admitted that the Eden Gardens track was exactly the kind the management wanted.

After 11 wickets fell on Day 1 and 15 more by the close of Day 2, the Kolkata surface came under scrutiny. However, Gambhir strongly defended Eden Gardens' under-fire curator while criticising his batters' inability...