The wicketkeeper-batter reminisced about Virat Kohli‘s time as captain, when India dominated at home for over six years, suffering few defeats while scoring a lot of runs until the spinners took over.
Brad Haddin, a former Australian cricket player, claimed that Gautam Gambhir is making India’s dependence on rank turners backfire for the second time. India’s performance in the first Test match at Eden Gardens was poor as they lost to South Africa by 30 runs on Sunday, November 16.
Gambhir’s strategy and propensity to leave too much to chance on extremely unpredictable pitches were widely criticised after the loss. Gambhir defended India’s choice and request to play on such a field, pointing to his team’s subpar batting as the only factor contributing to the loss.
When India failed to chase a 147-run target against New Zealand in Mumbai last year, they faced an almost identical scenario, suffering the first-ever 0–3 series thrashing at home in their cricketing history.
They batted long and applied pressure on the scoreboard when Virat Kohli took over as captain at that time. Too much is being left up to chance. It allows regular spinners to participate in the game. All you need is someone who can toss the ball; the wicket will take care of the rest. We are satisfied with the surface we are playing on, according to what I’ve heard Gambhir said. They also lost to New Zealand because of this,” Haddin stated on the Willow Talk podcast.
“Under Gambhir, they have now accomplished this twice. When they focus on increasing scoreboard pressure with their runs rather than taking wickets, they play their finest cricket. They have removed their elite hitters from the game. They are simply leaving too much up to chance, in my opinion. When India scores a high total and then uses their fields to strangle the opposition, they play their finest cricket. On a surface like that, their batters aren’t very good spinners, but their spinners are superior than everyone else,” he continued.
Shaun Pollock, the legendary pacer from South Africa, too criticised the Indian batsmen’ lack of mental toughness on such challenging grounds. India has never failed to chase down a target as low as 124 runs in a home Test match.
“On the surface, I believe the thinking had to be about how we can appear optimistic and where we can score occasionally. When Jadeja reached the crease, I felt the intensity skyrocket. Pant most likely didn’t stay long enough. Where are the former Indian batters who, despite the challenges, managed to dominate under specific circumstances? When he played that innings here against Australia, you thought of VVS Laxman. Pollock asked, “What’s going on with these chases now?
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