India’s Coach Gautam Gambhir throughout a press convention forward of the primary cricket check match between India and New Zealand at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on October 14, 2024.
| Picture Credit score: PTI
Again in 2009, Gautam Gambhir performed a stellar knock within the second India-New Zealand Check at Napier. His practically 11-hour vigil helped India drive a draw when following on.
Now the India head coach, Gambhir doesn’t entertain heat tales of nostalgia. “All that’s historical past. It’s prior to now,” Gambhir mentioned at a press convention in Bengaluru on Monday when reminded of his exploits.
The observe up query, nonetheless, acquired Gambhir’s consideration. On this age of attacking cricket, is it doable for a batter to point out the immense endurance that Gambhir did in that Napier match? The previous opener definitely believes so.
“We need to be a workforce that may make 400 runs in a day, and bat for 2 days to get a draw. That’s known as progress. That’s known as adaptability. That’s known as Check cricket. If we’re in a scenario the place we have now to bat for 2 days to attract, we have now a variety of people who can do this. The primary motive is to win the match, and the second or final possibility is to play for a draw,” Gambhir mentioned.
The primary Check between India and New Zealand, which commences right here on Wednesday, may see Virat Kohli attain 9,000 Check runs. The previous India captain is 53 runs wanting the mark.
Kohli has not made a fifty within the three Assessments he has performed this yr, however did chip in with an vital 35-ball 47 in opposition to Bangladesh within the second Check at Kanpur. Gambhir said that Kohli is as hungry as ever for the massive runs.
“My ideas about Virat has at all times been very clear – he’s a world-class cricketer. He has carried out for such an extended time period, and he’s as hungry as when he made his debut.
“I keep in mind opening the batting with him when he made his debut in Sri Lanka (in 2008). Even now, his starvation is at all times there. I’m positive that he will likely be wanting ahead to those three Assessments and the collection in Australia as properly,” Gambhir mentioned.
Gambhir defined that this period belongs to bowlers, and that it’s time to recover from the overall obsession with batters.
“That is the time of bowlers. Batsmen solely arrange matches. It is rather vital that our batsman-obsessed angle ends.
“If a batsman makes a thousand runs, there isn’t any assure that he’ll win the Check match. But when a bowler takes 20 wickets, there’s a 99 per cent assure that he’ll win the Check match. In any format, bowlers win you the match. I hope that on this period, we are going to speak extra about bowlers as in comparison with batters,” Gambhir mentioned.
Printed – October 15, 2024 03:35 am IST
