Cricket-Gambhir concerned by India's batting collapses ahead of ODI World Cup

India head coach Gautam Gambhir said he was ​concerned by his side's batting collapses ​after they were bowled out ‌for 89 ​in a 244-run loss to New Zealand in the fourth one-day international on Friday, with conditions resembling those they could ‌face at next year's World Cup. The visitors, who lead the five-match series 2-1, were skittled for 89 in Mount Maunganui after earlier slipping to 111-7 while chasing 135 in the rain-affected second ‌ODI, which they narrowly won via the DLS method.

"You are always concerned when you ‌get bundled out for 90-odd, why won't I be concerned?" Gambhir told reporters. "I think I will be concerned because obviously these are conditions which are going to be closest to what we might get during the ⁠World ​Cup."

The 2027 ODI World ⁠Cup will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, where conditions are expected to offer a greater ⁠contest between bat and ball than the typically batter-friendly pitches in the Indian subcontinent. "When you play in ​India, obviously you all know that there is hardly anything for the bowlers, but ⁠when you come in these conditions, you know that there is actually a good contest between bat and ⁠ball..." ​Gambhir said.

The former India opener said the manner of the dismissals, rather than the low totals themselves, was the bigger concern. "I think the bigger concern is not the ⁠runs, it's how quickly we got bundled out.

"Hopefully we can try and rectify that as soon ⁠as possible." New Zealand ⁠cannot win the series but can force a drawn outcome by winning Sunday's final ODI at the same venue. The third match was ‌abandoned because ‌of rain.