ExPakistan cricketer criticizes Gambhir for third England T20I loss

Published at: January 30, 2025 9:36 AM

Updated at: January 31, 2025 7:40 AM

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali criticized India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir after their loss in the third T20I against England. England won the match by 26 runs in Rajkot, making a strong comeback in the five-match series.

In this game, England set a target of 171 runs, thanks to a quick half-century from Ben Duckett and a late burst from Liam Livingstone. In response, India’s batting lineup struggled and was restricted to 145/9 in their 20 overs, falling short by 26 runs.

Basit Ali blamed Gautam Gambhir for what he called both tactical and technical errors. He pointed out that while England was 52/1 after the powerplay, India was only 51/3. Despite the pitch looking favorable for high scores with no dew factor, Gambhir opted to bat later, thinking India had already won two matches. Ali believed this was a wrong decision.

He also mentioned that the ball came onto the bat better in the first innings than in India’s reply. Ali noted that the series had become more exciting with England's comeback, making it 2-1. If India had won, the series would have been 3-0.

The two teams will meet again for the fourth game at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday.