You guys have set the tone for the rest of the tour - Gautam Gambhir after India’s 3-2 T20I series win in New Zealand

India concluded the T20I leg of their New Zealand tour by winning the series 3-2. The Men in Blue won the first three T20Is in clinical fashion, chasing down every target on the back of sensational batting performances. Things, however, didn’t go to plan in the last two games, where India fell short.

In a video posted by the BCCI, India head coach Gautam Gambhir spoke about the side’s overall performance and praised the players for their clinical show away from home. In his message to the squad, Gambhir highlighted how well India had fared in the shortest format despite only a few days of preparation.

Acknowledging the collective effort, Gambhir said, “You can be extremely proud of the effort that you guys have given in this series. I think winning the series, especially winning with one day to prepare and playing against a quality team like New Zealand in their own backyard, you ought to be extremely proud. You can go back with your head held high.”

Addressing the last two defeats, Gambhir added, “Yes, you wanted to win the last two as well, but sometimes these things can happen. But I think that that you guys have set the tone for the rest of the tour. Before the start of the series, I said that you guys have the responsibility to set the tone. Now it is up to one-day guys and Test guys to continue from where you guys have left.”

He signed off with a message for the future, saying, “Make sure we keep getting better, make sure we keep improving. That is something that is going to be important. And we know that we don’t play enough T20 cricket. We have got a month off now. So make sure that we stay in that shape and we get prepared come the Sri Lanka. We can’t take any opposition lightly. Continue to think as a team and we continue to play as a team.”

India now turn their attention to the five-match ODI series, which is followed by two Tests to complete the tour.