400 runs in a day or battle for draw? Gambhir proud of versatile India in Tests
Two days before the first Test match against New Zealand in Bengaluru, India head coach Gautam Gambhir reminded the media that his team does not play any particular style of Test cricket. The Indian team are coming off a sensational series victory against Bangladesh where they blew away the Najmul Shanto side with an aggressive brand of cricket in Kanpur.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of the Bengaluru Test Gambhir said that if need be, Indian batters have the skillset to bat for 2 days if they needed to save a Test match. Gambhir said that he was proud of the Indian team, which had the luxury of having several talented batters throughout its line-up.
The Indian team batted at over 8 runs per over against Bangladesh in Kanpur and forced a result, despite more than two days’ play being washed away by rain. The match was widely hailed as one of the best seen in recent years for the intent that the entire Indian team showed with both bat and ball.
“We want to be the team that can score 400 runs in a day and can bat for 2 days to save a Test match as well. And that is the growth and adaptability that we are looking for. And that is what Test cricket is really. We have batters in the dressing room who can do both. The first motive always is to win and in case a situation arises where we have to play for a draw, then that is our second and third option,” Gambhir said at the pre-match press conference.
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India are also coming off a sensational T20I match in Hyderabad, where they scored 297 runs – the highest ever total hit in a T20I by a Test playing nation. Gambhir spoke about the natural ability of the Indian batters and said that he was not going to hold them back and ask them to play defensively if they were by nature – aggressive.
“We are not going to hold back people who want to play their natural game. Why do we need to hold back players who can score 400-500 runs in a day. And in terms of T20 cricket, I have always maintained that we will play high-risk, high-reward. There will be days that we will get bundled out for 100 but that is how we want to play the game, that is how we want to entertain,” Gambhir said.
The Indian team will nearly be assured of the World Test Championship Final’s spot if they are able to hammer New Zealand 3-0 in the upcoming series. India have been in sensational form over the last month and are expected tp continue their dominance against the Tom Latham side.
