India search for perfection in the final
Dubai: Behind his abrasive exterior, Gautam Gambhir is still searching for “that perfect game”. Another coach may not want to be too hard on himself and his players after four wins in a row and think that there is no such thing as a perfect game. But this is the Gambhir way.
All coaches constantly chase results and excellence, that’s what they sign up for. So Gambhir isn’t any different. It’s just that the Indian dressing room may be getting used to their new coach and he may now know them better. India has results to show and that’s usually a good indicator.
If you had not been to a Gambhir media conference before, you may have thought he was a cocktail of emotions only minutes after the win against Australia on Tuesday that earned India a ticket to the final on Sunday.
The Indian head coach scoffed at a question singling out Virat’s importance in a run chase, then a little later, laud his senior batter for being a phenomenal ODI cricketer. He would critique his critics for over-relying on averages but pose KL Rahul’s ODI average as the answer for why he was picked.
“I don’t even care about it honestly,” Gambhir replied when asked if he felt vindicated over team selections. That was just Gambhir being his confrontational self.
Whether you believed with Gambhir when he disagreed that India’s Dubai home base has helped them, you couldn’t dispute between him, captain and selectors, they have plotted to maximising that advantage as best they can.
Spin twist
The last time India played an ICC event without Jasprit Bumrah was in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia and they could simply not find a way to cover his big shoes. For the Champions Trophy, the Indian think tank was quick to identify a way to minimize Bumrah’s absence. They shored up their spin strength. Varun Chakravarthy was parachuted to the ODI mix based on his T20I returns against England.
“We thought, it’s only five games in this tournament and very unlikely that the (extra) batter is going to play at any stage, unless there’s an injury. With Varun, we knew that there is a chance that he might play without any injury in the team,” Indian captain Rohit Sharma said. “So, looking at the surfaces here, hearing about what has happened in Dubai in the past two months. We were watching ILT20 and we thought the slower bowlers will be a lot more helpful. If we need a batter to come in, Rishabh (Pant)is there for us.”
Middle order control
Pant wasn’t always supposed to be a reserve. One understands there was a selection debate whether Pant and KL Rahul should both play in the middle order and Shreyas Iyer miss out to avoid five right-handed batters being slotted one after the other. Eventually, it was decided that Iyer’s body of work in ODIs was too strong. It was then decided that all-rounder Axar Patel be trusted to do the floater’s job in ODI cricket, just as he did in the last T20 World Cup.
Both Iyer and Axar have vindicated the faith. Iyer has looked the most fluent in the middle order against spin on the slow pitches here. His attacking intent has allowed Virat Kohli time to grow into his innings during run chases without having to take risks. The semi-final against Australia was one example. The match against Pakistan another.
Quite similarly, Axar has also made vital contributions at No 5, his left-handedness and fluency against spin has made it more challenging for opponents. To facilitate Axar’s promotion, KL Rahul has slipped down to No 6, but he hasn’t lost any of his middle-order maneuvering skills. The keeper-batter helped the team past the finish line twice, against Australia and Bangladesh.
Good balance
Besides, Axar’s batting has allowed India to play with three genuine spin options in two matches and as many as four spinners in the last two matches. The fourth spinner being Chakravarthy who was a revelation against New Zealand and got the big wicket of Travis Head in the semi-final against Australia.
India has also been able to bat with the right tempo, starting from brisk starts from Rohit all the way up to Hardik Pandya at No 7. The Indian captain’s SR (107) is up there with Hardik, who has usually walked in with the license to bat freely.
“I think cricket is all about being out of your comfort zone. That is how you grow. So, I believe, and you’ve seen the results,” Gambhir said. “I know you guys will keep going back to 3-0 (Test loss to NZ) or 3-1 in Australia, but everyone in the dressing room is staying out of the comfort zone be it the coaching staff, be it the players and hopefully we continue to take Indian cricket forward.”
Gambhir would hope his quest for the perfect game comes good in the final.
