'Batters need to defend better': Coach Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir. Pic/Atul Kamble

While many believe that attack is the best form of defence when one is cornered, India head coach Gautam Gambhir reckons only a solid defence can help his batters tackle spin appropriately and score big runs.

The hosts have already lost the three-match series 0-2 with New Zealand's left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner emerging as their hero with a 13-wicket match haul in the previous game. However, Gambhir is expecting his team to bounce back in the third and final Test that begins at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.

In Pune, along with Santner, NZ off-spinner Glenn Phillips (3-86) and left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel (2-43) exposed the Indian batters' inability to counter spin. However, when mid-day asked Gambhir if he was surprised to see his batters fail against the tweakers, the former India opener disagreed.

‘Santner bowled really well'

"I'm not surprised. Surprise is not the right word. I think it's just that, Santner bowled really well. We need to defend better. That's very important, especially on a turning track, because if you've got confidence in your defence, a lot of things can be sorted. So, that's something we need to keep getting better, keep working on," said Gambhir during the pre-match press conference on Thursday.

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Gambhir, who has 4,154 runs under his belt from 58 Tests, including nine centuries and 22 fifties, insisted that defence is the only path to success in the longest format. "To be a successful Test cricketer, you see people like Virat [Kohli] or all the great players who've done really well in Test cricket, They've always had a good defence. The foundation of your batting in Test cricket has to be defence. Then you start taking up from there," added Gambhir.

Win at Wankhede crucial

When asked about the significance of this Wankhede game for his team, Gambhir replied: "Simple. Try and win and more importantly, when we go to Australia, we should go with a win under our belt. It's another great opportunity for people to do something special for the country. We very well know that we represent 140 crore Indians, because very few people get this opportunity and honour to represent the country in Test cricket, so it's another opportunity for the guys who will walk on to the cricket field tomorrow."

The coach also made it clear that from now on, every Test is vital with respect to the World Test Championship (WTC) final. "For me, WTC points are very important. Every Test match is important. There are no dead rubbers anymore. This has a lot to do with T20 cricket. Gone are the days of draws because the quality of batters and hitting has gone up. Matches are more result-oriented now. This is a combination of pressure due to WTC points and T20 cricket," Gambhir concluded.