Indian players pose with the series trophy after winning the T20 cricket international series between New Zealand and India in Hamilton, New Zealand, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. AP/PTIWhile India succumbed to a seven-wicket defeat at Hamilton on Sunday, the players received adulation from head coach Gautam Gambhir for securing a 3-2 series win. The coach commended the effort from captain Shreyas Iyer and his players for managing workload amid an intensely busy schedule, and acclimitasing to conditions in New Zealand despite having a very brief preparatory runway.Notably, India had only one practice session before embarking on the series. In the immediate aftermath of a series against the West Indies that ended in a 2-2 stalemate, India had arrived in New Zealand on 20 October, before training on 21 and then playing the first T20I on the very next day.“It is an incredible effort because the boys got only one day to prepare. They arrived on the 20th. We practiced on the 21st. Different conditions, different weather, different dimensions, playing against a quality side like New Zealand in their own backyard with the amount of experience they had in T20 cricket. Plus, most of the boys touring New Zealand for the first time. So, I think boys can be extremely, extremely proud of their efforts, especially when you hardly got any time to prepare,” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.“My belief is that after one practice session, after taking a 15-hour flight, if the guys can deliver that kind of performance, especially against a quality side, I think a lot of credit needs to go to this side. I know a lot of people will not talk about it, but this is an achievement which I think we should always talk about because these guys were always under pressure. Especially not being prepared that well in these conditions, so I feel that these guys deserve a lot of credit for what they’ve done,” he added.Further, the head coach offered an insight into his coaching philosophy. On being asked about whether he was fearful of his team’s performance given the lack of preparation, he said:“I am not afraid of anything. In my dictionary, in my directory, and my ideology, there is no such word as fear. It doesn’t even exist in my life. The most important thing is that if we hadn’t won this series, nobody would have even talked about getting just one practice session. We would have been talking again about how bad the Indian team is, that everything went wrong after the World Cup.”Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.Tags:India cricket team