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India head coach Gautam Gambhir is hopeful that the series defeat to New Zealand will push his players to get better.
Gautam Gambhir (left) and Rohit Sharma will be aiming to avoid a clean sweep. (BCCI Photo)
India head coach Gautam Gambhir has refused to lay down the responsibility of India’s poor show against New Zealand in the ongoing Test series at home on the shoulders of batters alone. New Zealand have taken a decisive 2-0 lead in the three-match affair – their first ever such series win in India after storming to impressive wins in Bengaluru and Pune.
In Bengaluru, the tourists dazzled their hosts in seam and swing friendly conditions. In Pune, which produced a spin-friendly pitch, India were expected to bounce back but in a surprise turn of events, New Zealand bested Rohit Sharma’s men in conditions they were expected to struggle.
“Everyone has the responsibility. I cannot say just the batters have let us down,” Gambhir told reporters on Thursday ahead of the third Test that starts from November 1 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
This was Gambhir’s second Test series in charge since being named as the head coach and the defeat is ‘hurting’ the two-time world cup winner.
He though feels that the result could propel his players to do better in the future.
“I am not going to sugarcoat that it is hurting,” Gambhir said. “It should hurt and that will make us better. What is wrong in being in this position? I am sure this will push the youngsters to be better cricketers. If we have results like Kanpur, might as well have results like this and keep moving forward.”
One of the highlights of India’s disappointing show was the inability of their batters to drop anchor and build innings. However, Gambhir feels that it’s more about how a team approaches a session.
“Test cricket should be played like Test cricket. If we have to get 400 runs inside a day’s play we should be able to get it. For me it is about playing the sessions as well. If we play 4.5 sessions we will have a lot of runs on board,” he said.
Gambhir refused to comment on the Wankhede pitch with reports claiming that they have asked for a rank-turner. “It is just a good wicket. Very difficult for anyone to judge before both teams have batted on it,” he said.
