India’s record-breaking chase in the second ODI against West Indies in Guwahati on Sunday put on one of the most spectacular batting displays, but Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir expressed his concern, highlighting the lack of balance in the match. India comfortably chased down a target of 406 runs in 43.3 overs, clinching an eight-wicket victory. Shubman Gill starred with a double century, and Rohit Sharma slammed a hundred. Still, for Gambhir, the sheer volume of runs remained an issue because the conditions gave bowlers very little opportunity to play any decisive role in the match.
"Look, if I have to be absolutely honest, I feel I think there has to be a bit of more contest between bat and ball, because I think you talk about cricket - but this is not cricket; this is only batting. Because imagine a young bowler bowling on this wicket, and the opposition getting 400 and then we go on to chase 400. Obviously, for the records it's outstanding, for the crowd it's outstanding, for the broadcaster it's outstanding, but if you ask me as a genuine cricket fan and as a coach, because I have to have sympathy for the bowlers as well,” Gambhir told the broadcasters following India’s win.
"When you bowl on this kind of a wicket, it's not fair for the bowlers. So we've got to give something to the bowlers so there's at least something which the bowlers can work with."
West Indies, after being asked to bat, piled up 405/7, their highest-ever ODI total. And later Indian batters unleashed a brutal batting assault. Overall, five centuries were scored during the match, including Gill’s unbeaten 223. Meanwhile, Gambhir felt that a bowler can execute his plan and still finish with figures that make the performance appear worse than it actually was. And that was the case with India’s debutant Auqib Nabi, who went for 84 runs from 8.5 overs without claiming any wicket.
"The first thing is that you need some sympathy and a bit of margin for the bowlers. Often you can't be hard on bowlers, because sometimes bowling figures are such that they haven't bowled as poorly as their figures suggest. Because the margin is very small. Plus, I think you can only bowl in good areas because besides that, with five fielders inside, two new balls, and the kind of power-hitting there is now, bowlers don't really have many options," he said.
"That is why, as a coach, as a support staff, the first thing you look at is, were they able to execute their bowling or their plans properly? If they were able to do that, then you shouldn't be hard on them. If you get too hard just looking at their analysis, then we will never be able to develop bowlers. Imagine Auqib [Nabi] playing his first game... somewhere you need to give them a bit of support and keep a bit of an extra cushion or extra options for them. But unfortunately, today there wasn't much for any bowler," Gambhir stated.