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Test cricket has changed over the years, and India has adjusted accordingly. The most recent example of this is the Kanpur Test against Bangladesh. Though run rates have increased and hitters are seeking out more chances to score runs beyond the boundary, India head coach Gautam Gambhir feels that flexibility is still the most important component.
“We want to be that team which can score 400 in a day and bat for two days to salvage a draw,” Gambhir said ahead of India’s first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru. “And you call that growth, you call that adaptability, you call that Test cricket. If you play only one way, then there is no growth.
“I can’t talk about world cricket. Every team has their ideologies, their methods to play Test cricket. I can only talk about my team. If we are ever in such a situation where we have to bat for two days to draw a Test, we have players in the dressing room who can bat for two days. Ultimately, our first motive is to win a match and then if there is a situation where the team has to play for a draw, we have to keep those options open as well. That is the kind of Test cricket that we want to play.”
Gambhir was in favour of the “high-risk, high-reward” strategy and doesn’t mind if India is bowled out for 100 in the process as long as the batsmen execute their natural styles and approach the ball with determination, even in Test cricket.
“Yeah, we want people to be aggressive, we want people to go out there and play their natural game. If they can play the natural game, if they can get 400-500 runs in a day, why not? We will play it that way – high-risk, high-reward; high-risk, high-failure,” Gambhir said. “There will be days when we’ll get bundled up for 100 but we’ll continue to back our players.
“That’s how we want to play and that’s how we want to entertain the people of this country and, even in Test cricket, we want to keep the game going forward and get the results in whatever situation we are in.”
India is feeling confident going into the three-match series against New Zealand. They are atop the World Test Championship (WTC) standings and have won six straight games at home dating back to February of this year.
“I think New Zealand is a completely different challenge,” Gambhir said. “We know that they’re a very, very good team. They’ve got some really high-quality players. They’ve got players who can hurt us. They’ve got players who can do the job for them as well. They keep fighting and we expect them to fight as well. So we respect them, but we don’t fear anyone.”