First Guwahati, now Ranchi: Gautam Gambhir rages against highway pitches after Shai Hope’s ton inspires West Indies to stun India originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Gautam Gambhir again spoke up for India’s bowlers after West Indies chased down 250 in Ranchi, asking for a fairer balance between bat and ball.
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Shai Hope’s unbeaten 102 off 45 balls, along with Sherfane Rutherford’s 120-run stand, helped the visitors win by six wickets and level the series at 1-1.
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Gambhir refused to blame the toss or the dew, saying India must learn to defend big totals and that West Indies deserved the win.
Gautam Gambhir demands a fair contest between bat and ball after Ranchi defeat
India head coach Gautam Gambhir has once more raised his voice against flat batting surfaces, and this time the trigger was Ranchi, where West Indies chased down a target of 250 in the second T20I on Friday, October 9.
He wants a fairer fight between bat and ball, and he made it clear that the bowlers are the ones who keep paying the price. Moreover, heavy dew made the ball slippery and left the pitch with very little to offer.
India still put up a big total, finishing on 249/5 in their 20 overs. Sanju Samson top-scored with 82, Ishan Kishan added 43, Shreyas Iyer made 40, and Tilak Varma stayed unbeaten on 44. On most nights, that score would have been enough to win a T20 international, but the dew and the flat surface turned it into a target that was well within reach.
Shai Hope’s unbeaten 102 off 45 balls did the damage, and the West Indies captain finished the job with six wickets in hand and nine balls to spare.
Creimas/BCCI
Gambhir had already taken a strong stand after the second ODI last month in Guwahati, where India chased down 406 against the same opponents. He didn’t hold back that day and called out the flat conditions: “It was not cricket. Just batting.”
On Friday, he was asked whether the team management would like to see a better contest between bat and ball. His reply was a balanced one, as he said fans and the team want the same thing.
“Who doesn’t want a good competition between bat and ball?” he asked. “Of course. What you want, we also want. If you only want to see sixes and fours, we want to see that too. If you want an even contest, then we also want an even contest, because bowlers are our bowlers too, right?”
He then spoke about what the bowlers go through, and he sounded protective of the group.
“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,” he added at the post-match press conference.
MORE: ‘250? Cool’: Shai Hope makes epic reply to Shubman Gill with Instagram post after Ranchi carnage
Gambhir refuses to blame the toss after Ranchi defeat
Gambhir wasn’t ready to say the toss decided the match. He felt teams have to work out how to bowl when the dew arrives and the pitch gives no help, and he added that India need to find a way to put pressure on the opposition, particularly after taking two early wickets.
“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.
He also gave full credit to the visitors and was open about what his side must fix.
“Obviously, it was tough. But again, credit to West Indies, the way Shai Hope batted,” he said.
“We know that they are world-class batters, especially in this format, so obviously it was tough. But we’re going to keep improving. The bottom line is that we could not defend 250. They batted extremely well.
“They deserved to win, and we still have a lot of work to do. When you’re playing against dangerous teams like the West Indies, we need to figure out how to defend, especially when you lose the toss.”
MORE: Shreyas Iyer blames dew after WI blow India away in a 250 chase
Creimas/BCCI
Gambhir’s plea is fair, but India must fix their death-overs plans
Gambhir has a strong point when he asks for contests that give bowlers a chance. T20 cricket is meant to be a battle, and two matches in a row that produced huge chases make a compelling case that the surfaces are tilting too far towards batters.
If the sport keeps leaning that way, bowlers will end up being treated as little more than a supporting act, and that isn’t good for the game’s long-term health.
At the same time, India can’t hide entirely behind the pitch or the dew. West Indies had lost two wickets in the opening over and were 58/3 in the sixth, which is exactly the sort of position where a strong bowling unit should tighten its grip.
Instead, Hope and Rutherford were allowed to settle, and once the stand reached 120, the match was effectively beyond reach. To his credit, Gambhir admitted as much when he said the team couldn’t defend 250.
The sensible way forward is for the management to push for more balanced pitches while also preparing the bowlers for evenings like this one, with wet-ball drills. Hope played a brilliant innings and deserves the credit, but India’s response over the next three games will show whether they can adapt as quickly as they ask others to.
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