Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir expressed his delight after India’s emphatic nine-wicket win over Australia in the third and final ODI on Saturday, October 25, in Sydney. Despite the win, India lost the series 1–2 after sub-par batting performances in the first two matches in Perth and Adelaide respectively.
Gambhir praised the bowlers for effectively restricting the Australian batters and ticking all the boxes in the final ODI. He also praised young right-arm pacer Harshit Rana, who delivered an excellent spell and finished with figures of 4/39, which played a key role in limiting the hosts’ scoring rate in the first innings on Saturday.
“We talked about wanting to do something special today (for the 3rd ODI) and we wanted to be desperate, we wanted to put our bodies on the line. And I think we did everything, we ticked all the boxes. Especially to start with, I think the bowlers were excellent. The kind of start Australia had from 63/0, from there to restricting them all to 237 was an excellent effort. And special mention to Harshit. That was an excellent spell. The part is to stay humble, stay calm and keep working hard, it is just this beginning, it is not the end,” Gambhir said in a BCCI video.
The former Indian opener also praised the top-order batters for completely outclassing the Australian bowlers. He praised former captain Rohit Sharma for leading from the front and building two crucial partnerships, first with Shubman Gill and later with Virat Kohli. Gambhir congratulated Rohit on his century and praised the composure and experience displayed by both veterans during the successful chase.
“And then with the bat, I thought the partnership between Shubman and Rohit was very, very important when we were 60, without a loss. And then again the partnership between Rohit and Virat is excellent, very clinical too. And a special mention to Rohit, another 100, excellent and the most important thing was that you finished it, and so did Virat. I thought that was something that was also very important for the team’s point of view. And how clinical we can be in these chases and we were very good,” said Gambhir.
The action now moves to the 20-over format as the Men in Blue will be led by Suryakumar Yadav for five T20I matches against the Mitchell Marsh-led team. The first match of the series will be played on Wednesday, October 29 at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
Get every cricket update! Follow us:
#Special #mention #Harshit #Rana #Gautam #Gambhir #hails #young #pacer #fantastic #stint #Sydney #CricTracker