The opener said that the bowlers alone cannot be blamed for defeats and the responsibility of a result lies with all the 11 players of the side.
Opener Gautam Gambhir on Monday backed the under-fire Indian bowlers, saying they alone cannot be blamed for defeats and the responsibility of a result lies with all the 11 players of the side.
India had very expensive last two overs in the Rajkot ODI, where England scored a huge 325 runs and won the match by nine runs.
However, Gambhir said it would be wrong to paint the bowlers as villain as the side prepares for the second ODI, in Kochi on Tuesday.
"Only bowlers don't win the match for you. All the 11 players that get on to the field have to do it for you. Whenever the batsmen don't do well, bowlers cover up for them and vice versa. I don't believe in blaming one area of the game. I think the bowlers are putting in all the hard work, and the way they won the match for us against Pakistan (in Delhi) was commendable," Gambhir said.
"There has been just one match in this series, and unfortunately the problem here is after every defeat we start talking about form. That's not the way to look at it, we have to look at a broader picture," the left-handed batsmen said.
Gambhir said there was no need to be harsh on gangly paceman Ishant Sharma and argued that the England bowlers too struggled in the first game.
"I think he has done well in the three matches against Pakistan coming back after such a long time. It’s just the last game that things didn't go his way. But he is working hard and he has been bowling really well and the results are there for you to see.
"If England scored 325, we managed to score 316. So there wasn't much difference between their bowlers and our bowlers."
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