Rahul Dravid vs Gautam Gambhir: Who Has Better Record As India Coach After 7 Tests?

Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir [Source: @SPORTYVISHAL, @CricCrazyJohns/x.com]

India have faced a humbling defeat against Australia in the second Test of the five match series at Adelaide. After winning the first match, the fans and followers of the Asian team expected that they will put on another strong show and take a formidable lead in the series, however that did not happen.

The Australian team bowled out India for 180 runs in the first innings and took the advantage in the game. The position of the team was further solidified by a brilliant knock from Travis Head. The Australian batter scored 140 runs off 141 deliveries and helped the team reach a formidable total of 337. 

The lead of 157 in the first innings proved too much for the visiting team. They managed to score 175 in their second dig at the match and gave a target just 19 runs to Australia. The home team got home very easily with 10 wickets in hand. 

Notably, this was the seventh Test match for India since Gautam Gambhir has taken up the role of head coach of the team. They have lost four of these seven matches. Gautam Gambhir succeeded Rahul Dravid to this role. Let us take a look at how the team performed comparatively after seven matches under the coaching of these two.

Rahul Dravid vs Gautam Gambhir: Comparison After 7 Test Matches As Head Coach

After the first seven matches under Rahul Dravid's coaching India had seven wins and two defeats while they drew a match. On the other hand, under Gautam Gambhir's coaching India have faced four defeats in the first seven Test matches, winning three. 

When we look at the win percentage, under Dravid it was 57.14% after the first seven matches, while it is down to 42.85% under Gambhir's coaching. 

Rahul Dravid vs Gautam Gambhir: Home Tests Comparison After First 7 Matches

If we look at the performance of the two teams under the coaching of Dravid and Gambhir, we can see that India did much better under the former. While India had a home win percentage of 75 under Dravid, under Gambhir it is just 40.

Rahul Dravid vs Gautam Gambhir: Away Tests Comparison After First 7 Matches

When it comes to away Tests, so far, the record under Gautam Gambhir looks better. With one win and one loss in two Tests, India's win percentage under him is 50, while it was just 33.33 under Dravid.

Conclusion

If we look at the Indian team under Dravid and under Gambhir in their first seven Test matches as captain, we find that the team certainly did better under the former. Even though, Gambhir has a better record so far in overseas Tests, the fact that India were clean swept under his coaching at home by New Zealand will be a black mark in his coaching career. 

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