IND vs NZ | Indian batting unit need to be ruthless while chasing, says Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir has suggested that the Indian batting unit needs to be ruthless while chasing a small targets rather than scraping through. India were cruising at 142/2 after 15 overs, chasing 165, but the loss of wickets made it a trickey chase with India needing 10 off the last over.
The Men in Blue were 142/2 with Suryakumar Yadav at the crease batting on 62 at the time. In the next over, a well-set Yadav was dismissed by Trent Boult and the left-armer conceded only two runs. In the 18th over, Lockie Ferguson only conceded five runs leaving the Rohit Sharma-led side to chase 16 runs in two overs. India eventually needed 10 runs in the last over which was chased down with two balls to spare. Meanwhile, the former India opener stressed that the team should have closed out the game earlier.
"You have got to finish off much stronger because chasing targets like these, you have got to be more ruthless with the batting unit. Professionalism is not only about scraping through or getting these runs at the second last ball. When you were in the position where you could absolutely crush the opponents, go out and be ruthless. That is the attitude that India need for the next 11 months and that is what will define them when they head into big tournaments against strong sides," Gambhir said on Star Sports after the match.
Gambhir added that he was disappointed with Yadav not finishing off the game and further added that Pant finishing was more important than Surya’s fifty.Â
"Very disappointed. See, though I really admire him for his batting, he needs to finish off these games. It's not about how you start, it's about how you finish. It really doesn't matter if you've got a 60, 70 or 80, if you can score the last run, you are the most important part in the side," added Gambhir.
"Rishabh Pant finishing off this game was more important than Surya getting 62 runs because scoring that last run is the toughest run. So when he was in that position, where he could have come out 70, 80 not out and won the game, that is what maturity is about. You mature not just by scoring runs but by finishing off games in such scenarios."
Both teams will face each other on Friday, November 19 in Ranchi.
