Gambhir lauds India's 'ruthlessness' in T20I series win
The India head coach also praised Shreyas Iyer for how his tenure as the T20I skipper has gone so far
India head coach Gautam Gambhir was effusive in praise for the team after they completed a 3-2 T20I series win in New Zealand. More crucially he was pointing towards their efforts in the first three fixtures, as India wrapped up the victory at the earliest possible opportunity. It was especially applause-worthy given the cramped schedule that India have endured recently.
India had a full-strength squad over in Japan for the Asian Games from September 24 to October 3, which they went on to win. They returned home with the gold medal and perhaps a lot of jet lag, but they still were back on the park for the T20Is against West Indies from October 6. That series, of five matches, wrapped up on October 17. They then flew all the way to New Zealand on October 20th, practiced on 21st and were throw into a match situation a day later. India performed like the T20 champions they have been for the last couple of years, pulling off three big chases over the next six days, which included smashing 199 in just 13.2 overs.
"Biggest achievement, apart from winning, is how they've handled the conditions and how ruthless they were in the first three games," Gambhir said.
"It's an incredible effort because the boys got only one day to prepare. They arrived on the 20th, we practiced on the 21st, different conditions, different weather conditions, different dimensions, playing against a quality side like New Zealand in their own backyard with the amount of experience they had in T20 cricket, plus most of the boys touring New Zealand for the first time. So I think boys can be extremely, extremely proud of their efforts, especially when you hardly got any time to prepare," the head coach added.
The first win wasn't straightforward. New Zealand posted 225. India flew but endured a middle-overs wobble. Shreyas Iyer fought on with a 28-ball 42 before Naman Dhir turned the game with a 15-ball 42. In the second T20I, chasing 188, India were down to 70/5 before the trio of Tilak Varma, Naman and Nitish Reddy saw the chase through.
"Three young boys got us across the line [in the second T20I] and then chasing 199 in 14 overs [13.2]... winning the first game after one practice session. That is what is called ruthlessness. We wanted to win the next two as well, but sometimes things don't go in your favour as well. I feel that the biggest achievement is how they were able to handle pressure, how they were able to handle conditions and more importantly how ruthless they were in the first three games," Gambhir opined.
Shreyas Iyer's captaincy tenure in T20Is began with a wobble but has since steadied with back-to-back victories. Following defeats to Ireland and England, India have won in Zimbabwe, against Afghanistan, Japan and in the Asian Games, and then shared the spoils (2-2) with West Indies before arriving in New Zealand. Taking stock of all that has happened, Gambhir commended the skipper for the job he's done, particularly while having to employ an inexperienced bowling attack.
"When he took over, he took over a very, very successful T20 team. The team that had won the World Cup, and more importantly, that hadn't lost a series in two years. I don't think any other team across the globe has done that, that they've not lost a single series for two years and gone on to win the World Cup.
"And obviously, we had challenging oppositions as well. After the World Cup, we went to England. And more importantly, we had given a lot of new guys that opportunity as well. We did lack a lot of experience, especially when you tour places like England and New Zealand.
"But this is a great opportunity as well, that if you start thinking of building for the next World Cup, you've got to give young players the opportunity and try and develop them being on the road as well. Because you see the amount of experience that we had during the World Cup, and after that, the kind of experience we had in a bowling lineup. It is always challenging. So I thought that Shreyas has done a fabulous job, with so much of inexperience in the bowling lineup. Because as a captain, you're only as good as how your bowlers or your batters perform. Especially with an inexperienced attack, I think he's done a phenomenal job."
