India’s coach Gautam Gambhir praises his team’s courageous batting after they secured a record third T20 World Cup title with a dominant victory over New Zealand
INDIA coach Gautam Gambhir lauded his team’s “bravery and courage” after they powered their way to a record third T20 World Cup title.
Suryakumar Yadav’s side hammered New Zealand by 96 runs in a one-sided final after posting a massive 255-5 batting first.
Opener Sanju Samson’s 89 laid the platform for India to score more than 250 for a second consecutive match, following their semi-final win over England.
“If you score 250-plus runs in the semi-final and final then it shows the kind of quality and the kind of bravery and courage we played the tournament,” Gambhir told reporters.
He emphasised a fearless philosophy, stating, “We did not want to fear losing, high-risk, high-reward is an important thing in this format.”
Gambhir, who replaced Rahul Dravid as coach after the 2024 triumph, faced scrutiny entering the tournament following home defeats in Test and ODI series.
Addressing the criticism, Gambhir said, “My accountability is not towards any social media talk, my accountability is towards the 30 in my team.”
He credited captain Suryakumar Yadav for the team’s aggressive approach and success.
“Surya has made my life a lot easier in this format, I think he is a phenomenal leader,” said Gambhir.
The coach also reserved special praise for player of the tournament Sanju Samson, who made a stunning comeback to score three successive half-centuries.
“Sanju to get three in a row and to do that after coming back it takes so much of character and courage where you know maybe your career is on line,” Gambhir said.
Samson blasted five fours and eight sixes in the final, capping a tournament where he also scored 97 not out in the previous match.