"It was alarming": Gautam Gambhir blasts Delhi pitch curator despite full 5-day India-West Indies Test

India National Cricket Team head coach Gautam Gambhir was not happy with the pitch that was offered for the second and last Test match of the series against the West Indies National Cricket Team.

Gautam Gambhir slammed the pitch curator of the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi and stated that a better surface could have been made for the India vs West Indies second Test match.

Yes, we did get the result on day five, but again, I think nicks need to carry - Gautam Gambhir

The second Test between the Shubman Gill-led side and the Roston Chase-led team lasted for the full five days. Although the hosts remained in control for most of the time, West Indies also put up a good fight - way better than the first Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

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Batting first, India piled up 518/5d and then bundled out West Indies for 248 runs before imposing a follow-on and again bowling out the opposition for 390. Then, India completed the run-chase of 121 with 7 wickets in hand to register a 2-0 clean sweep.

Both Indian pacers and spinners almost equally dominated in the game, but Gautam Gambhir was disappointed with the pitch not offering support to fast bowlers.

"I thought that we could have had a better wicket here. Yes, we did get the result on day five, but again, I think nicks need to carry. I think there has to be something for the fast bowlers as well. I know we keep talking about spinners playing an important role, but when you have got probably two quality fast bowlers in your ranks, we still want them to be in the game as well.”

I think the first and foremost thing to keep Test cricket alive is playing on good surfaces - Gautam Gambhir

Gambhir further said carry wasn't there in the pitch, which was alarming, and emphasized playing Test cricket on good tracks to keep the game alive. He said:

"And it is okay if there is not enough [turn], but there has to be carry. So where we all saw [that] carry wasn't there, [it] was a bit alarming, and I think going forward, [I hope] we can get better wickets in Test cricket, because all of us have the responsibility of keeping Test cricket alive.

"I think the first and foremost thing to keep Test cricket alive is playing on good surfaces."

I have always believed that world cricket needs West Indian cricket - Gautam Gambhir

India head coach Gautam Gambhir was also mighty impressed with the performance of the West Indies in the second innings of the Delhi Test and was hopeful of their resurgence. He said:

"I have always believed that world cricket needs West Indian cricket. That is something which is very important. It was very nice to see them fight. And obviously, they are an inexperienced team and there are a lot of changes that have happened there, but the way they fought in the second innings will give them a lot of confidence."

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