Gambhir worried after India bowled out for 89 in Mount Maunganui fourth ODI

Gautam Gambhir said he was concerned after India were bowled out for 89 by New Zealand in the fourth ODI at Mount Maunganui on Friday, a collapse he flagged as worrying with next year's World Cup in South Africa in mind. The heavy defeat — by 244 runs — prompted the Indian head coach to single out the manner and speed of the batting failure rather than the low total alone.

India's fourth-innings collapse followed another poor showing in the series, when the side slumped to 111 for seven while chasing 135 in a rain-curtailed match, a pattern Gambhir said required technical and mental correction. He told reporters that conditions in New Zealand, particularly early in an innings, were similar to those the team might face at the World Cup and therefore merited urgent attention. Gambhir stressed that the team must prepare for the moving ball and adjust to the local phases of play.

On the immediate issue he said: "You're always concerned when you get bundled out for 90-odd. Why won't I be concerned? These are conditions which are going to be closest to what we might get during the World Cup." He added: "The bigger concern is not the runs. It's how quickly we got bundled out, around 26 or 27 overs. That is something which is always a concern."

Gambhir highlighted the difficulty of the opening 10 overs in New Zealand and contrasted it with conditions in India, urging a different approach in that initial period. "If you get 35 or 40 in the first 10 overs without losing a wicket, that is also good enough. Here, it's probably the most difficult time," he said, pointing to the importance of negotiating the new-ball phase.

The head coach identified the lengths being bowled by New Zealand pacers as a specific problem for his batters, noting deliveries that left players unsure whether to go forward or back. "I thought, more than the wobble seam, it's the areas that have probably created problems for us. It was that length where you couldn't go forward, you couldn't go back. It was that half-half length," Gambhir said.

Gambhir praised Matt Henry's lines and lengths and used examples of how they troubled India's top order, saying: "He got Rohit in the slips and then got Virat and Shreyas beaten on the inside edge. That is something we need to learn, how consistently we can hit the stumps and keep hitting those pads as well." He also pointed to dropped chances as a turning point, noting New Zealand centurion Will Young had been given two reprieves before making 125. "He got those two chances and made the most of it. Things could have been a lot different, but there's always hindsight to what you do. We dropped catches, no one else did. So we had to pay for it," Gambhir said.

Defending the inexperienced Indian pace group, Gambhir said the team would learn from exposure to unfamiliar conditions and expressed pride in the players' overall approach. "I feel proud of everyone. Good days will pass, bad days will pass as well. There will be days like this, because this is what you learn from. Because the amount of inexperience you have in bowling attacks, it can be difficult as a captain and as a support staff as well. Because you're actually learning on the job. It's not like you've come into international cricket with no experience at all. So when you have so much inexperience, and when you come into alien conditions, but the way you've played in this one-day series, I think not only me, I think all of us should be proud of that." He explained the decision to play a wrist-spinner instead of Mohammed Siraj by saying the tweaker was expected to be more useful on the bigger ground and provide an attacking option in the middle overs, and added that India were seeking continuity in their batting combination while giving players chances in different positions, naming Ruturaj Gaikwad as preferred at the top because of his greater experience as an opener compared to Ishan Kishan.

Gambhir backed his squad to respond in the series decider and said the players would be motivated by the defeat. "I'm sure the guys will turn up. It's important that they're hurting. I always believe that people should be hurting in the dressing room when you have this kind of a performance. If you're hurting, then obviously we can come back really strong," he said.