Following India's six-wicket defeat in the second T20I against the West Indies in Ranchi, head coach Gautam Gambhir staunchly defended his tactical decisions. He dropping a definitive verdict regarding the team's blueprint for the shortest format, stating that the batting order except for the opener should remain flexible.
Despite intense scrutiny after Shivam Dube laboured to 7 off 10 balls at the No. 4 spot, Gambhir made it clear that the move was grounded in long-term strategy rather than a knee-jerk experiment.
While acknowledging that India temporarily lost middle-overs momentum against West Indies off-spinner Roston Chase, Gambhir emphasized the tactical upside. He reiterated that Dube's capability to take down opposition bowlers has historically yielded massive momentum for the team.
"We have used him like this for a long time, including during the World Cup and before it. It is not as though this was a one-off decision today," Gambhir said in the post-match media interaction.
Accepting the volatile nature of international T20 cricket, Gambhir noted that tactics will not always bear fruit, but that will not deter India from maintaining a flexible batting approach.
"This is international cricket. Sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they don't. We lost momentum today, but we have also gained a lot of momentum by sending him in at No. 4, where he has taken on the opposition bowlers," the coach stated.
"More importantly, I think we have always been flexible with our batting order, and we will continue to do that. I have always said since taking over that in T20 cricket, only the openers are permanent. The rest of the batting order should remain flexible,” he added.
Coming to the match, India posted a mammoth 249/5 after being asked to bat first in Ranchi. Sanju Samson top-scored with a blistering 82 off 41 balls (9 fours, 4 sixes), supported by Tilak Varma (44* off 18), Ishan Kishan (43 off 22), and Shreyas Iyer (40 off 18). Roston Chase was the pick of the West Indies bowlers with 3/24.
Despite young pacer Mayank Yadav striking early to leave the visitors at 58/3 in the powerplay, the Caribbean side pulled off a historic chase. While captain Shai Hope smashed an unbeaten 102 off 45 balls, Sherfane Rutherford hammered 84 off 37 balls as the visitors overhauled the target of 250 with 9 deliveries to spare.
