Former skipper says star batsmen guilty of over-confidence in shock loss to New Zealand in Nagpur
Gavaskar critical of India's approach
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar says India's over-zealous approach with the bat proved to be their downfall in their upset loss to New Zealand at the ICC World T20 on Tuesday night.
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The host nation had been expected to breeze past the Black Caps side, their first without retired skipper Brendon McCullum, as they began their campaign as warm favourites to win the tournament for a second time.
But the start-studded Indian batting line-up was undone by NZ's trio of slow bowlers - Nathan McCullum, Ish Sodhi and man-of-the-match Mitchell Santner - to be ripped out for just 79, their fifth loss from five completed T20 internationals against the plucky Kiwis.
While some sections of the Indian media turned their attention to state of the pitch - on which New Zealand managed to total 126 from their 20 overs - Gavaskar said India's batsmen had to shoulder the blame for the loss.
Chasing just 127 to win, just three Indian batsmen managed to post double figures as, including three of their top four batsmen inside the first three overs.
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"You've got to show a little bit of respect to the opposition," Gavaskar said during commentary.
"If the (target) was 160, then I understand that the first ball you face from a bowler, you look to score a few runs because you cannot really afford a dot ball.
"But when you've got an asking rate of just over six an over, then you can - with the kind of adaptability that you normally show - give yourself the opportunity to see what the bowler is doing.
"If you go straight away for a drive on the up and you've not really looked at what the pitch is doing, or what the bowler is getting out of the pitch, you're going to be in trouble.
"And that is what happened.
"It wouldn't say it was a lack of respect, but maybe just a touch of over-confidence."
Gavaskar's comments about driving on the up was no doubt in reference to star batsman Virat Kohli, who aimed a booming cover drive at the very first ball from legspinner Ish Sodhi and edged behind for 23.
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Kohli was one of four members of India's top five who were dismissed playing attacking shots against the Kiwi slow bowlers - three of which posted only single figure scores - as India slumped to a record low total.
But Gavaskar says it's a loss India can recover from, starting with their grudge match with Pakistan on Saturday that now looms as a must-win game for the home side.
"It's a setback, but it's not something India can't come back from," Gavaskar said.
"But they'll have to play much, much better than what they did today."
While Gavaskar said the players needed to take responsibility for the loss, one report questioned the state of the pitch at Nagpur's Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium, a venue that attracted a "poor" rating from the ICC during a Test match there late last year.
"It must have been embarrassing for the International Cricket Council president from Nagpur, (former VCA boss) Shashank Manohar, to see his forces falter for the second straight game," wrote Sanjjeev Samyal in the Hindustan Times, who labelled the surface "pathetic".
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"During the last Test match in Nagpur against South Africa, the pitch was a rank turner and was rated ‘poor’ by the ICC.
"(New Zealand's spinners) will not be automatic choices in some of India’s first-class teams, but on this wicket they were almost unplayable, making batsmen like Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan look silly."
Sriram Veera in the Indian Express added the result would give curators around the country food for through for the rest of the tournament.
"If there was any plan to prepare turners for India – whether it was done at team’s behest or independently is beside the point here – the least the curators can do is to check the schedule properly and see who the opponents are," he wrote.
But the Indian media did also heap praise on the Black Caps, with the Deccan Chronicle even labelling left-armer Santner "the next (Daniel) Vettori".