Defence must be foundation of Test batting: Gautam Gambhir

MUMBAI: How did India get bamboozled by New Zealand spinners? Ask head coach Gautam Gambhir and he says it all "comes down to T20 cricket ".

Speaking on the eve of the third Test at the Wankhede Stadium , Gambhir didn’t mince words when he spoke at length about how playing T20s has led to batters' downfall when it came to honing their defensive technique and the ability to play with soft hands in the longest format. India's batters were at sixes and sevens against Black Caps' left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner , who finished with match figures of 13/157 in the second Test in Pune. That was the first time the 32-year-old had taken a five-wicket haul in his 29-match Test career.

"It has a lot to do with T20 cricket. When you are used to muscling the ball, you end up forgetting the soft hands… stuff which used to happen eight or 10 years back. That is why I say that a complete cricketer is one who would play the T20 format successfully as well as Tests. One can adapt his game. That is what growth is.

"Growth is not only about hitting the ball in the stands. It's also about batting sessions on a turning track, where you know that you will not be able to hit in the stands, but you will be able to rotate better. For that, I think the foundation is very important.," said Gambhir.

"You see people like Virat (Kohli) and all the great players who've done well in Tests for a long period of time. They've always had the defence. The foundation of your batting in Tests must be defence and then you start from there."

The drooping shoulders and the grim faces after the defeat in Pune showed how much the series defeat has affected the team. Gambhir though felt that it's good that the team is "hurting". "Everytime you lose a game, it should hurt," he said.