A Rollercosater Start to Gambhir’s Coaching Era
Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as the head coach of the Indian Cricket team started well with a win against Bangladesh. However, Gambhir was scrutinised as India lost the test series to New Zealand—A feat last achieved by the black caps twelve years ago.
Unexpected Defeats in Bengaluru and Pune
The Test series was full of surprises. The first test in Bengaluru saw India get all out for 46, recording the lowest total by the team at home! Chinnaswamy stadium turned out in enormous numbers because of the cricket craze in Bengaluru, the den of India’s talisman Virat Kohli. Surprisingly enough, Kohli failed to produce his magic in front of the crowd by returning to the pavilion after being caught at a leg gully for a duck. The whole team followed suit, failing to set up a challenging score in the first innings. According to experts, Rohit Sharma should have chosen fielding after winning the toss after the first day of play was cancelled due to rain. The Kiwis, in return, set up a lead of 356 runs in the first innings. Devon Conway scored 91, while Bangalore’s own, Rachin Ravindra, scored 134 by playing for the Men in black. Tim Southee came out of the syllabus to score 65 runs and set up a humongous score in the first innings for New Zealand.
As a response, the Indian team came out with an aggressive attitude in the second innings. Captain Rohit Sharma set the tone by scoring 52 runs. The crowd was re-energised as Virat Kohli scored 70, exciting the Bengaluru crowd. However, the celebrations ended after Kohli found Tom Blundell’s gloves at the last ball of the third day. Debutant Sarfaraz Khan justified his selection in the squad by scoring 150 runs after being dismissed for a duck in the first innings, proving his doubters wrong. Luck wasn’t on India’s side as Rishabh Pant fell short of 1 run to his century, leaving the Bengaluru audience silent. A 6ft 6in framework of O’Rourke bundled India for 462 runs by taking three wickets and setting up a modest target of 107 runs for the black caps. It wasn’t a problem for New Zealand as they sealed the first test match by eight wickets. In the press conference, Rohit Sharma admitted they made a wrong decision by batting first on the wet pitch.
The five-day test match in Pune ended on the third day after India failed to pose a threat to the opposition. Batting first, this time, New Zealand’s old combination of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra took the responsibility into their own hands by scoring 76 and 65, respectively. Indian spinners dominated the game. Washington Sundar impressed the crowd with seven wickets, while Ashwin took care of the remaining three, restricting the Kiwis to 259. India’s batting order fell like a house of cards, with the skipper departing for a duck. This same M.C.A. stadium, which has seen Virat score a double century against South Africa 5 years ago, saw him getting out after scoring just one run. Already in the driver’s seat, New Zealand’s skipper Tom Latham scored a whooping 86 runs, extending the Kiwi’s advantage. Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips drove the innings forward before being all out at 256 and setting up a target of 359 for India. There seemed to be hope for the Indian team as young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal came out guns blazing by scoring quick runs, but the others failed to support him. From Rishabh Pant being run out for a duck to Mitchell Santner taking seven wickets for the Kiwis, Pune’s spectators saw it all. Jadeja tried his best to fight back by scoring 42 runs, but it went in vain. For the first time, New Zealand won a test series in India, questioning the selection of Gautam Gambhir by many experts.
India’s World Test Championship Outlook
Despite the loss, India remains at the top of the W.T.C. table with eight wins, four losses, and one draw in 13 matches. The next test match at Wankhede is a must-win for the team to avoid whitewash. India will next play a test against Australia in the historical Border-Gavaskar trophy starting on 22 November, with a lot of new faces like Bengal’s Abhimanyu Easwaran being included in the squad. According to former cricketers, India is expected to turn the tide in Australia to stay in the W.T.C. final race, which will be held in Lords in 2025.
31 Oct 2024
Hrishit Bhattacharya
