MUMBAI: “Eight hundred and eleven runs, five centuries. Were there any bowlers around in Guwahati?”—has been trending on social media after Wednesday’s high-scoring second ODI.
Despite the eight-wicket win, India coach Gautam Gambhir minced no words at the end of the second ODI on a flat pitch that reduced the game to a batting show.
“I feel there has to be a bit more contest between bat and ball, because I think you talk about cricket—this is not cricket, this is only batting,” he told the host broadcaster after the game. “Imagine a young bowler bowling on this wicket and the opposition getting 400 and then we go on to chase 400. For the records it’s outstanding, for the crowd it’s outstanding, for the broadcaster it’s outstanding. But if you ask me as a genuine cricket fan and coach…I have to have sympathy for the bowlers as well.”
It is easy to understand why Gambhir is unhappy with the ODI series. Everything has favoured the batters, the bowlers have merely made up the numbers—flat pitches, shorter boundaries, five fielders inside the ring and two new balls. In the first ODI at Thiruvananthapuram, India chased down 296 inside 42 overs losing just two wickets. At Guwahati, the hosts chased down 406 inside 44 overs.
The rough treatment of the bowlers has become routine in Indian cricket. The majority of the IPL 2026 matches were a nightmare for the bowlers with the Impact rule making their job harder.
{{/usCountry}}The rough treatment of the bowlers has become routine in Indian cricket. The majority of the IPL 2026 matches were a nightmare for the bowlers with the Impact rule making their job harder.
{{/usCountry}}During the last IPL, at a Euro T20 League event, the first statement former pacer Zaheer Khan made was that at least playing in Europe means there will be some balance between the bat and ball. His frustration at the bowlers being taken out of the contest by the flat pitches, and the rules favouring batters, was clear.
“What can you say, 800 runs scored at an average of 9-10 an over? Even in the first ODI, that wicket was very good for batting. What can the bowlers do? I think they should chuck the ball,” former India pacer and coach Madan Lal said, rather sarcastically.
“I am not enjoying the game at all because it is all one-sided affairs, even in T20 cricket. It looks like the bowlers are going to be finished.”
For the organisers in India, entertainment is about fours and sixes, and hence the conditions are tailormade for batting. “Entertainment means a tight game. It doesn’t mean one team gets 405 runs and then gets beaten in 35 overs,” the 1983 World Cup hero said.
“Even our bowlers allowed them to score 400. There was not even 10 per cent for the bowlers. The other thing is the boundaries are very small.”
Former India pacer Karsan Ghavri, who played 39 Tests and regularly opened the bowling for India from 1976-77 to 1981, slammed the flat pitches. “It’s definitely tough for the bowlers, but if you look at the other aspect, the gallery, it is good for the sponsors. On flat wickets, it is a batter’s dream and advertisers’ gold mine, but it is a deathbed for the bowlers.”
The Guwahati crowd wasn’t complaining. It is always good to watch when the home team wins after a high-scoring chase, but if the visiting team wins, then such defeats will be tougher to take.
“Nothing wrong that some of the pitches are like that but I hope it doesn’t continue in every match, you must know that the opponents can also get those many runs,” said Ghavri.
Former India spinner Maninder Singh gave a different perspective. For him, a bowler coming out on top in tougher conditions puts him on a higher pedestal. “There is no doubt about it (there’s nothing for the bowlers), but imagine a bowler coming out of this challenge, like in the first game Kuldeep Yadav getting 4/40 in 10 overs. The class stands out, doesn’t it,” said Maninder.
“I can understand there’s not much in the pitches for the bowlers, but if you are a class bowler then you will perform on these kinds of tracks also. That is the other way of looking at it.”
More importantly, with roughly a year left for the 2027 ODI World Cup, is the series ideal preparation for the conditions expected in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia?
“The wickets will be bouncier, seaming, definitely there will be some grass on them,” said Ghavri.
Gambhir said India have less time than it might appear to settle on their options for the World Cup. “When you go to South Africa, it is not going to happen like this,” said Lal. “They should make sure they (pitches) have more bounce, a little bit more movement.”
He added: “There should be some competition, 60% for the batters and 40% for the bowlers. Nobody wants to see the match end early, but there must be something for the bowlers.”