India coach Gautam Gambhir during a press conference ahead of the first cricket test match between India and New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka on October 14, 2024 | Photo: PTI
In 2009, Gautam Gambhir played a stellar knock in the second Test between India and New Zealand at Napier. His near 11-hour vigil helped India force a draw when it followed.
Now as India’s head coach, Gambhir does not give warm tales of nostalgia. “It’s all history. That is in the past,” Gambhir said at a press conference in Bengaluru on Monday when he was reminded of his exploits.
However, the next question caught Gambhir’s attention. In this age of attacking cricket, is it possible for a batsman to show the immense patience that Gambhir did in that Napier match? The former discoverer certainly believes so.
“We want to be a team that can score 400 runs in a day and bat for two days to get a draw. This is called growth. This is called adaptability. This is called Test cricket. If we are in a situation where we have to fight for two days to get a draw, we have a lot of people who can do it. The first motive is to win the match and the second or last option is to play for a draw,” Gambhir said.
The first Test between India and New Zealand, starting here on Wednesday, could take Virat Kohli to 9,000 Test runs. The former India captain is 53 runs short of the target.
Kohli has not made a fifty in the three Tests he has played this year, but chipped in with an important 35-ball 47 against Bangladesh in the second Test in Kanpur. Gambhir stated that Kohli is as hungry as ever for big runs.
“My thoughts on Virat have always been very clear – he is a world-class cricketer. He’s played for so long and he’s as hungry as when he debuted.
“I remember opening the batting with him when he made his debut in Sri Lanka (in 2008). Even now his hunger is always there. I am sure he will be looking forward to these three Tests as well as the series in Australia,” Gambhir said.
Gambhir explained that this era belongs to the bowlers and that it is time to overcome the general obsession with batsmen.
“It’s bowling time. Bats only set up matches. It is very important that our batsman obsession ends.
“If a batsman scores a thousand runs, there is no guarantee that he will win the Test match. But if a bowler takes 20 wickets, there is a 99 percent guarantee that he will win the Test match. In any format, your bowlers win the tournament. I hope in this era we will talk more about the bowlers than the batsmen,” Gambhir said.
Published – 15 Oct 2024 03:35 AM IST
