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India head coach Gautam Gambhir blamed T20 cricket for the team’s recent struggles in Test cricket ahead of the third and final match against New Zealand.
The Black Caps sealed their first-ever Test series victory on Indian soil last week in Pune and are now chasing a 3-0 sweep in the final match starting Friday at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
India’s famed batting line-up, led by skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, has flopped in the series including the hosts’ 46 all out in the first innings of the opening Test.
Gambhir attributed the poor showing to an attacking 20-over mindset, at the expense of the conservative posture needed for long spells at the crease.
“The foundation of your batting in Test cricket has to be defence,” said Gambhir. “Probably a lot to do with playing on flat wickets in T20 cricket,” he added.
“We will have the same issues with a lot of other teams as well because the more T20 cricket is played, the less people will start defending.”
New Zealand beat India at their own game of spin for a 113-run victory in the second Test with Mitchell Santner returning a match haul of 13 wickets.
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Gautam Gambhir rejected accusations by pundits that India had lost the ability to counter spin attacks from other teams.
“I don’t think so, sometimes you got to give it to the opposition as well,” Gambhir told reporters.
“I think Mitchell Santner was outstanding in the last game, but yes, we’ll keep working hard. We’ll keep getting better. That’s about it.
“Guys are putting a lot of hard yards in the nets. Yes, ultimately it’s the results that matter when you’re playing international cricket, but I don’t think that our skill against spin has actually gone down.”
India lost the second match inside three days to suffer their first home series loss in 12 years and end a streak of 18 series wins at home in the period.
The final Test will be India’s last before they head for their all-important tour of Australia starting with the first of five Tests on November 22 in Perth. Gambhir said his men were determined not to gift New Zealand a clean sweep.
“Every time you lose a game, be it at home or be it away from home, it should hurt. That hurt will make us better,” he said.
“For me, it’s good that World Test Championship points are important and there are no dead rubbers any more in Test cricket. We should try and win this Test match so that we go to Australia with a win under our belt.”
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