Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir has lauded the side’s fearless and ruthless mindset after India secured a 3-2 victory in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer. Gambhir hailed the fact that India had limited preparation time and unfamiliar playing conditions and grounds with unconventional dimensions; still, the side managed to win the series.

“Obviously, it’s an incredible effort because boys got only one day to prepare. They arrived on the 20th; we practised on the 21st, different conditions, different weather conditions, and different dimensions, playing against a quality side like New Zealand in their own backyard with (the) amount of experience they had in T20Is. Plus most of the boys touring New Zealand for the first time so I think boys can be extremely, extremely proud of their efforts, especially when you have hardly got any time to prepare,” Gambhir said at the press conference. 

“From a planning point of view, I don't think we did a lot of planning for T20 cricket because we had two back-to-back series against the West Indies and New Zealand. But, obviously, there was a bit of planning when it comes to two Test matches because we wanted most of our Test players, whether it's the batters or the bowlers, to try and play at least one four-day game in these conditions. And that’s how we have tried to plan it,” he said. 

India's preparations for the opening encounter were not up to the task, as the squad arrived in Christchurch just 24 hours before the first T20I. They had very little time to acclimatise to the conditions, but they still managed to pull things off spectacularly, which according to Gambhir was extremely crucial. 

"I think. These boys, apart from winning, I think how they've handled the conditions and how ruthless they were in the first three games, especially when you're chasing 220. We were down and out, three young boys got us across the line,” Gambhir said.

"And then chasing 199 in what 14 overs and winning the first game after one practice session, so that is what is called ruthlessness. We wanted to win the next two as well, but sometimes things don't go in your favour as well. So I feel the biggest achievement is how they were able to handle pressure, how they were able to handle conditions, and more importantly, how ruthless they were in the first three games,” he said.