‘Gambhir should have finished it on Day 1’

A couple of days before he left for Bulawayo to join the Indian team for the two-match Test series, Gautam Gambhir had ‘nets’ at t...

A couple of days before he left for Bulawayo to join the Indian team for the two-match Test series, Gautam Gambhir had ‘nets’ at the Indira Gandhi Stadium centre, where he’s been training for almost a decade now. His coach, Raju Tandon, then had advised his ward to ‘‘make the best use of the opportunities’’ he would get in Zimbabwe.

Recalling that meeting before Gambhir’s departure for Zimbabwe, Tandon today said that he had told the cricketer not to leave things unfinished. ‘‘There are only two Test matches and you may get only to play two innings. Make the best use of the chances and never leave things unfinished,’’ he said.

‘‘And what I feared has come true,’’ he said today, referring to Gambhir’s dismissal in the 90s for the second time in his fledgling Test career. ‘‘He had almost three overs last evening to score those five runs and complete his hundred. He was in the best nick on the first day. His footwork was fine and his strike rate was also excellent.’’

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But Gambhir appeared tentative, perhaps weighed down by the prospect of a second century. ‘‘In fact, on a couple of occasions he pushed even overpitched deliveries which should have been sent to the fence,’’ he said.

‘‘He had to concentrate all over again on the second day, and I’m sure the tension had increased when he resumed his innings this morning. He should have continued to bat in his natural manner in the last 15-20 minutes of play yesterday,’’ a clearly disappointed Tandon said.

What surprises him is Gambhir’s inability to convert good starts into big scores, given his string of double hundreds in domestic cricket. ‘‘I agree that there is a vast difference between domestic and international cricket. Concentration level has to be top when you play at the highest level,’’ he admitted.