Former Australia captain Brad Haddin is of the mind that India's Gautam Gambhir's one decision cost India dearly in the first Test against South Africa. India suffered an embarrassing 30-run defeat in the first Test at the Eden Gardens, where they miserable failed to chase down a paltry target of 124 runs.
Who was at fault in India's humiliating loss to SA in 1st Test? Brad Haddin answers
Haddin highlighted India’s strategic reliance on rank turners, which is is proving detrimental for the second time under the tenure of Gautam Gambhir. The loss has intensified widespread scrutiny of Gambhir’s tactical decisions and his perceived willingness to leave too much of the outcome to the volatile nature of highly unpredictable playing surfaces.
Defending his team's choice to play on such a surface and the request for its preparation, Gambhir attributed the defeat solely to the poor batting performance of his side. However, this situation bears a striking resemblance to a recent past failure: India faced an almost identical outcome last year when they failed to successfully chase a 147-run target against New Zealand in Mumbai. That loss contributed significantly to an unprecedented 0-3 series whitewash at home, marking the first time in India’s cricketing history that they had suffered such a comprehensive defeat in a home Test series.
I just think they are leaving too much to chance: Haddin
Haddin drew a comparison to the previous era of Virat Kohli's captaincy. During that period, India achieved a dominant record at home for nearly six years, suffering negligible losses. That success was built on a strategy where the batters consistently posted heavy runs on the scoreboard before the spinners were able to take control of the match, a stark contrast to the current results.
"When Virat Kohli took over as captain back then, they batted long and put scoreboard pressure. They are leaving too much to chance. It brings ordinary spinners into the game. You just have people who can throw the ball and the wicket will do the rest. I heard that Gambhir came out and said we are happy with the surface we are playing on. This cost them against New Zealand as well,” Haddin said on the Willow Talk podcast.
“They’ve done it twice now under Gambhir. They play their best cricket when it's not about turning wickets but building scoreboard pressure with their runs. They have taken their world-class batters out of the game. I just think they are leaving too much to chance. India play their best cricket when they put a big total on the board and then they make the opposition claustrophobic with their fields. Their spinners are better than anyone on that surface but their batters are actually not that good players of spin on a surface like that,” he added.
Gambhir and Team India will certainly have a point to prove in the second Test, which is scheduled to be played from November 22 at the Barsapara stadium.