'India's head coach made technical and tactical mistake' - Basit Ali slams Gautam Gambhir after India's defeat to England

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has pointed fingers at India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, following the team’s 26-run defeat against England in the third T20I in Rajkot on January 28. Ali mentioned Gambhir’s tactical decision to field first despite there being no evident dew factor, which he believed played a crucial role in India’s loss. With this win, England kept the five-match series alive, making it 2-1 after India had won the first two encounters.

The match in Rajkot saw the visitors posting a total of 171/9, thanks to Ben Duckett’s fiery fifty and Liam Livingstone’s late flourish. For India, Varun Chakravarthy registered a five-wicket haul (5/24). In response, India suffered a batting collapse in their chase, managing only 145/9. Basit specified that India’s decision to bowl first was wrong.

"England were 52/1 after the powerplay and India were 51/3. It looked like a pitch as though 200 runs would be scored because there was no due factor. But Gautam (Gambhir) made a technical and tactical mistake. He thought let us bat later as we have already won two games. I think the ball came onto the bat nicely in the first innings as compared to the second," Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel. 

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The series has become interesting now: Basit Ali

India’s batting lineup failed under pressure, with England’s pace attack exploiting the conditions well. Jofra Archer struck early to dismiss Sanju Samson while Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav followed suit within the powerplay. Adil Rashid and Livingstone blocked the scoring in the middle overs, with Rashid claiming the crucial wicket of Tilak Varma, who had been India’s best performer in the previous game.

Washington Sundar and Hardik Pandya struggled to take India over the line, with Pandya managing 40 off 35 balls. Meanwhile, one of the biggest positives for India was the return of ace pacer Mohammed Shami as he returns to the playing XI after the 2023 ODI World Cup.

While he bowled three overs, conceding 25 runs, Basit Ali was impressed with his intent. "But the series has become interesting now. It is 2-1. If India had won it would have been 3-0," he said.