‘The stakes are much higher in World Cups’ - Gautam Gambhir on Indian team failing to post 250-plus totals

Team India sealed their semi-final spot in the T20 World Cup 2026 with an emphatic win over the West Indies at the Eden Gardens on Sunday, March 01. After the win, head coach Gautam Gambhir has come forward with a probable reason why his batters have not been able to score big totals in the global tournament.

Considering the ultra-aggressive style of play by the Indian batters in the bilaterals, it was expected of them to score in the same manner in the marquee event, but it has not been the case for them. In seven matches so far, they have only crossed the 200-run mark only twice, which clearly indicates a shift of style for the Suryakumar Yadav-led unit.

Reflecting upon the same, the Delhi-born said that the pressure and expectations a mega-event like the T20 World Cup brings are so much different from a bilateral series. And according to the head coach, that has been the case for his side.

"One thing is very clear that the bilateral are very different to World Cups. The pressure is different, the competition is different, obviously the stakes are much higher as well, bilaterals you got the time to make a comeback, but in World Cups you don't have a time to make a comeback and more importantly - yes people can talk about it that they expect us to play the same brand of cricket what we played in the bilaterals as well. But you can imagine the pressure the boys go through, especially most of the games are must win games as well. And sometimes wickets can be tricky as well," he was quoted as saying by NDTV.

He further added that dew has impacted the games very little throughout the tournament compared to when the Indian team played bilaterals against New Zealand and South Africa at home. According to Gambhir, the Men in Blue are playing smartly, as per the situation of the game, with so much on the line in a tournament like the World Cup.

"During the bilaterals as well - there were a lot of dew in the second innings as well, but we did not see a lot of dew during this World Cup campaign. So I felt that it was not only about the strike rate, it is about reading the game properly and obviously reading the situation as well. And that is something that is going to be important and the guys did that really well," Gambhir said.

"Even today you saw they were chasing 195. We never felt that we were out of the game. Never ever did we felt in 20 overs that the chase was away from us. So the guys kept in control. Yes, there were times in bilateral where we could chase the target in 16, 17 overs, but this is World Cup. And the pressure is different, and the quality is different as well," he concluded.

It was a chase masterclass by India’s wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, scoring an unbeaten 97 to take his side home in a high-pressure encounter. India will now face England in the semifinal 2 of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on March 5.