Five centuries, including a record double hundred from Shubman Gill, powered a run-fest in Guwahati, where 811 runs were scored — the third-highest match aggregate in an ODI — as India beat the West Indies by eight wickets on Wednesday to seal the three-match series.
But the glut of runs did not impress India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who pointed to the lack of a balanced contest between bat and ball.
A total of 807 runs were conceded by the bowlers across the two teams, also the third-highest in ODI history. The contest was particularly harsh on the fast bowlers. All of India’s pace options conceded at more than nine runs an over, for just three wickets. For the West Indies, all four pacers had economy rates above eight, with two conceding at more than 10 an over, while taking just two wickets between them.
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Speaking to the broadcasters after India sealed the series in Guwahati, Gambhir explained how pitches like this leave bowlers with little scope to make a meaningful impact.
“Look, if I have to be absolutely honest, I feel I think there has to be a bit of more contest between bat and ball, because I think you talk about cricket – but this is not cricket, this is only batting,” Gambhir told Star Sports. “Because imagine a young bowler bowling on this wicket, and the opposition getting 400 and then we go on to chase 400. Obviously, for the records it’s outstanding, for the crowd it’s outstanding, for the broadcaster it’s outstanding, but if you ask me as a genuine cricket fan and as a coach, because I have to have sympathy for the bowlers as well.
“When you bowl on this kind of a wicket, it’s not fair for the bowlers. So we’ve got to give something to the bowlers so there’s at least something which the bowlers can work with.”
One of those victims was debutant Auqib Nabi, who conceded 84 runs in 8.5 overs without taking a wicket. Gambhir explained that in such conditions, bowlers should be judged on their execution rather than the eventual figures next to their names.
“The first thing is that you need some sympathy and a bit of margin for the bowlers,” he said. “Often you can’t be hard on bowlers, because sometimes bowling figures are such that they haven’t bowled as poorly as their figures suggest. Because the margin is very small. Plus, I think you can only bowl in good areas because besides that, with five fielders inside, two new balls, and the kind of power-hitting there is now, bowlers don’t really have many options.
“That is why, as a coach, as a support staff, the first thing you look at is, were they able to execute their bowling or their plans properly? If they were able to do that, then you shouldn’t be hard on them. If you get too hard just looking at their analysis, then we will never be able to develop bowlers. Imagine Auqib [Nabi] playing his first game… somewhere you need to give them a bit of support and keep a bit of an extra cushion or extra options for them. But unfortunately, today there wasn’t much for any bowler.”
Gambhir breaks down Auqib Nabi call
The former India batter also explained the thinking behind handing Nabi his debut at the expense of resting Nitish Kumar Reddy, who is being groomed as a backup for Hardik Pandya. Gambhir said India could have handed the Jammu & Kashmir pacer his debut in the third ODI, but felt it would be better to assess him in a game where the series was still up for grabs rather than in a dead rubber.
“We could have given Auqib a chance in the next match too when it’s a dead rubber, but in a dead rubber, you don’t have that pressure which comes with the pressure of winning a series. And we all know that the World Cup is all about pressure. Cricket isn’t going to change like that, only the pressure will be different because the World Cup comes once in four years, so we want to put bowlers under pressure.
“For example, Gurnoor [Brar]. Having Gurnoor bowl in the first 10 overs, bowling at the death, I know people will talk about his analysis, but the more he bowls in tough conditions, in tough situations, the better it is for Indian cricket. Because you can have him bowl in the middle overs and get good analysis or good stats for him, make him bowl defensively, but the more we expose them at such times, the better it is for Indian cricket.”