“Gautam Gambhir will soon learn…”: Ravi Shastri’s honest verdict on the Indian coach after the New Zealand series defeat.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri came out in support of current Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir after the ongoing Test series loss to New Zealand. Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, India has lost a Test series on home soil for the first time in 12 years. Shastri said that since Gautam Gambhir is in the early stages of his coaching tenure with the national team, he still has enough time. The Indian batsmen got a taste of their own medicine when the Kiwi spin attack led by Mitchell Santner, who took 13 wickets in the match, trapped the hosts in their own spin trap and defeated India by 113 runs to take the series 2-0. . Have to go play.

“New Zealand have beaten them (India) brilliantly in both the Test matches. It is worth thinking about (the series defeat). He (Gambhir) has just taken charge. It is never easy to coach such a team. “It is still the early days of his career as a coach,” Shastri said while commentating during the second Test in Pune.

Talking about the match, New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat first. Half-centuries from Devon Conway (76 from 141 balls, with 11 fours) and Rachin Ravindra (65 from 105 balls, with five fours and one six) along with Ravichandran Ashwin (3/41) helped the Kiwis reach 197/3. Kept in position. ) is the only player to make some dent in the batting. After Conway’s dismissal the floodgates opened for wickets, with the returning Washington Sundar (7/59) taking the remaining wickets to reduce New Zealand to 259 all out.

India were tasked with overcoming this modest score and gaining a sizeable lead. After captain Rohit Sharma was out for zero, young players Shubman Gill (30 runs in 72 balls with the help of two fours and one six) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (30 runs in 60 balls with the help of four fours) tried to build a partnership. . However, his effort fell short at 49 runs. Like in the first innings, the dismissal of Seth Gill made way for Mitchell Santner to move into the Indian line-up. Santner (7/53) and Glenn Phillips (2/26) made the Indian batsmen dance to their tune on their own pitches and bowled them out for just 156 runs. Ravindra Jadeja scored the maximum 38 runs in 46 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes.

The Kiwi team put itself in a strong position in the second innings. Captain Tom Latham’s innings of 86 runs in 133 balls with the help of 10 fours and some of the innings from Phillips (48 runs in 82 balls with the help of four fours and two sixes) and Tom Blundell (41 runs in 83 balls with the help of three fours) With important contributions, the Kiwi team increased its total by 103 runs. -With a lead of 358 runs in the first innings, the team was reduced to 255 runs after excellent bowling by the spinners in the first session of the third day.

Sundar (4/56) once again led the bowling from the front, while Jadeja (3/72) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/97) took care of the lower-middle order and tailenders.

India, chasing the target of 359 runs, was given a good start by opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made a valuable partnership of 62 runs with Shubman Gill (23 runs in 31 balls, 23 runs with the help of four fours). However, after Jaiswal was dismissed after scoring 77 runs off 65 balls with the help of nine fours and three sixes, India never recovered and fell victim to the Kiwi spinners before being bundled out for 245 and losing the Test by 113 runs. With this, India also recorded its first home series defeat in 12 years.

Santner (6/104) was once again the star, taking 13 wickets in the match, with Phillips (two wickets) and Ajaz (one wicket) also providing some assistance in ending the Test two days early.

Gautam Gambhir and India’s focus now turns to Mumbai and the iconic Wankhede Stadium as they take on New Zealand in the third and final Test, where they will look to end the series on a high note.

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