Gambhir renews pitch plea after high-scoring Ranchi T20I
Gautam Gambhir urged for more balanced pitches following a high-scoring India-West Indies T20I in Ranchi on October 9, making the same appeal for the second time in 10 days.
Ten days earlier in Guwahati Gambhir had criticised batting-friendly conditions after India’s 406-run chase, saying "This is not cricket, this is only batting." On that day a combined 811 runs were scored in 93.3 overs, with India completing the chase in 43.3 overs.
In Ranchi the match produced 501 runs in 38.3 overs as West Indies reached 250, setting the record for the second-highest run chase in T20I cricket. Apart from Roston Chase, all bowlers from both teams conceded at economies above 10, and Gambhir noted that while dew may have been a factor the recurring issue was the competitiveness of the wickets.
Speaking at the post-match press conference Gambhir repeated his call for an even contest between bat and ball, saying: "Don’t you want a good competition between bat and ball? We want what you want." He added: "If you only want to see only sixes and fours, then we want to see that too. If you want an even contest, then we want that too."
Gambhir warned about the impact on bowlers' careers in the same exchange, saying: "These bowlers are our bowlersTheir careers are also at stake. They have worked very hard to get into the dressing room. It’s not like they haven’t worked hard. So if there is even competition, it will be good. And we will get to see better cricket too."
He also said the pitch could not bear sole responsibility, praised the West Indies batting and stressed learning from the defeat, stating: "You don't shrug off any defeat," and: "And obviously these are tough conditions to bowl. We know that flat wickets with the dew, obviously it's tough. But we need to figure out the wayto try and stop the opposition, especially when they lost two wickets in the first over and then lost three in the first six."
India will face West Indies in the third T20I on October 11 in Indore.
