While the first five Tests here were all drawn, of late, Eden Gardens has become a more result-oriented venue: six of the last seven Tests have produced a decisive result, with India winning four of them - twice against Australia, and once each against England and South Africa. Teams have usually opted to bat after winning the toss, but the average first-innings total isn't a huge one - in the last five Tests here, going back to 1997-98, teams average 30.32 per wicket in the first innings, 43 in the second, 41.04 in the third and 25.64 in the fourth. This suggests the pitch offers something to the bowlers early on, then settles down into an excellent batting track, and then aids the bowlers again on the final day. That's almost the perfect Test wicket isn't it? Since 1998, fast bowlers have done better than spinners here. The 89 wickets by fast bowlers has come at 32.62 apiece, while spin has accounted for 67 wickets at 41.31. Indian spinners, though, have had a much better time of it, taking 52 wickets at 28.96.S Rajesh is assistant editor of Cricinfo. For some of the stats, he was helped by Arun Gopalakrishnan, the operations manager in Cricinfo's Chennai office.
