Despite the poor pitch that made batting a horror show, fans flocked to the stadium in Kolkata’s winter heat

The Test match returned to the Eden Gardens in Kolkata after six years, and the fans of the city of joy welcomed the game with open arms. Thousands of spectators flocked to the stadium on Friday, followed by more on Saturday and Sunday, amidst Kolkata’s winter heat. Yes, you read that correctly! Unlike most of the country’s regions, which have been embracing the winter cold, Kolkata’s mercury has not witnessed a significant dip, and yet, fans sat through sweat to support India in a Test game, the first since the pandemic era.

(Credit- Mumbai Indians)

Crowd in numbers

According to journalist Boria Majumdar’s Facebook post, Eden Gardens witnessed a crowd of 36,000 on the first day, Friday, despite it being a working day with offices and colleges operating in the city. On Day 2, the number of crowds increased from 36,000 to 42,000, who cheered for India regardless of what happened on the pitch. The ambience was as if India were playing a knockout match in a tournament. The crowd entered the stadium early in the morning at 7:30 a.m. and stayed throughout the day till the curtain fell in the evening.

(Credit- CAB)

Disappointment hits

Unfortunately, the strangely turning pitch that saw wickets tumbling down in the blink of an eye did not allow the Kolkata crowd to return to the stadium on Monday and Tuesday, as the match ended in only three days with India losing the game.

(Credit- NDTV)

The selection of pitch became a controversy, but CAB president Sourav Ganguly clarified the air, stating, “The pitch is what the Indian camp wanted. This is what happens when you don’t water the pitch for four days. Curator Sujan Mukherjee can’t be blamed.” Ganguly’s statement was backed by Gambhir, who confirmed by saying, “This is exactly the pitch. And I feel that, as I just mentioned before, the curator was very, very helpful. And this is exactly what we wanted, and this is exactly what we got. When you don't play well, this is what happens.”

Nonetheless, the turner pitch did not work in India’s favour, as the Men in Blue failed to chase down a meagre target, which also jeopardised Eden Gardens’ turnover of fans for Days 4 and 5.

CAB’s economical tickets

For the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), it was a challenge to attract large crowds to the stadium for a Test match. Remember, for the IPL, T20I, or ODI, there’s a certain level of glam associated. Therefore, getting crowds into the stadium for such matches isn’t a mammoth task. However, for the Test, the strategy becomes different. CAB chose the easiest method of attracting the crowd, i.e., tickets starting from merely INR 60, and it worked.

Many may point out that the crowd flocked to the stadium only because of the economically priced tickets, but one cannot ignore the fact that, whether hardcore fans or not, they stayed throughout the day. Not to forget, the crowd also saw a huge number of women watching the match, which is definitely a result of India-W winning the ICC World Cup 2025.

For India, it is time to reflect and find ways to do well in the Test format. However, for the format itself in India, it was certainly a win that the Eden Gardens enjoyed, hoping more matches will come its way, especially semi-finals and finals of major tournaments in other formats.