‘Their careers are at stake’: Gambhir supports bowlers after India lose high-scoring Ranchi T20

India head coach Gautam Gambhir speaks to reporters after the Ranchi T20I. (CREIMAS)

Only 10 days after his ODI side chased down a record 406-run target against the West Indies in Guwahati, India head coach Gautam Gambhir saw his team fail to defend a 250-run target in the second T20I against the same opposition in Ranchi. On both occasions, Gambhir reflected on the plight of the bowlers, with placid pitches leaving them with limited options.

Gambhir saw cricket being reduced to just “batting” in Guwahati. On Friday night, he remarked that the bowlers’ careers are at stake due to the poor parity between bat and ball.

“They aren’t foreign bowlers; their careers are also at stake. They also worked hard to sit in this dressing room; it’s not like they didn’t work hard. They have also worked hard. So if there is an even competition, it will be good, and better cricket will be seen,” Gambhir said after West Indies gunned down a record chase, courtesy of their captain Shai Hope’s unbeaten century.

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Batting first India racked up a mammoth 249-run total on the back of Sanju Samson’s 82 and quick cameos from Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma and Ishan Kishan. Gambhir downplayed the effect of the toss under dewy conditions.

“We are a world-champion team, so we want to keep improving. And obviously, these are tough conditions to bowl; we know that obviously, flat wickets, with the dew, obviously it’s tough, but we need to figure out a way to try and stop the opposition, especially when they lost two wickets in the first over, and three in the first six,” said Gambhir.

While nearly every bowler was taken apart through the evening, Gambhir credited West Indies off-spinner Roston Chase for his game-defining spell, walking away with figures of 3/24 in a high-scoring run fest.

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“If you look at the context of the game, it was game-changing; a match-winning spell. The way he changed his lines was important on this wicket. But against dangerous teams like West Indies, we need to find a way to defend totals.

You have to keep changing your lines and make the batters guess. If you keep bowling the same line and length, they can settle in. He bowled at the batters’ legs, went wide and bowled full. He kept changing his approach, and those variations are very important on wickets like these,” said Gambhir.

With the series level 1-1, India will face the Windies in the third ODI in Indore on Sunday.