Head coach Gautam Gambhir hails India's 'ruthlessness' after 3-2 win in New Zealand

India head coach Gautam Gambhir lauded his players for their "ruthlessness" after they secured a 3-2 victory over New Zealand in the five-match T20I series, despite having virtually no time to prepare.

The Men in Blue arrived in New Zealand just 24 hours before the series opener in Christchurch and managed only one practice session before the action got underway. Yet, the Shreyas Iyer-led side displayed remarkable character, winning the first three matches in succession to seal the series. With more than half the squad touring New Zealand for a T20I series for the first time, India brushed aside any challenges posed by unfamiliar conditions and showcased why they are the reigning world champions.

"These boys, apart from winning," Gambhir said during the post-match press conference in Hamilton following India's seven-wicket defeat in the fifth T20I, "I think it's about how they've handled the conditions and how ruthless they were in the first three games. Especially when you're chasing 226 in the first T20I. We were down and out, and then three young boys got us across the line in the second T20I.

"And then chasing 199 in less than 14 overs and winning the first game after just one practice session, that is what I call ruthlessness. We wanted to win the next two matches as well, but sometimes things don't go your way. I feel the biggest achievement is how they handled pressure, how they adapted to the conditions and, more importantly, how ruthless they were in the first three games."

Gambhir highlighted the importance of winning the series despite the team's limited preparation time.

"If we hadn't won this series, no one would have talked about having just one practice session. Everyone would have said, 'How poor is this Indian team that everything has gone wrong after the World Cup?' That's the reality. It's no secret that in India, people only see results, nothing else. My job is to prepare the players to the best of their ability and share my knowledge, because I have played in these conditions before in New Zealand."

The India head coach revealed that he drew on his own experiences of touring New Zealand to help the squad prepare for the challenges of playing there.

"So it was important for me to share that information, keep them in a good space and ensure they remained absolutely aggressive. That is the kind of cricket we have played over the last two to two-and-a-half years: high risk, high reward. We will lose matches, and sometimes we will lose heavily. That will happen again in the future. But our ideology and our philosophy will not change."