Bat time. Bat sessions. Bat long. Bat big. These are the tenets around which Gautam Gambhir had based his batting. Much of that stemmed from a strong defensive set-up. It’s precisely the significance of having a trustworthy defence that has been the messaging from the head coach to his wards over the last couple of weeks.

It’s not as if India’s batting line-up, established and prolific for the most part, needs a crash course in the basics. But sometimes, caught up as they are in the cauldron of international cricket, a slight deviation from norm is almost inevitable. Apart from the second innings of the first Test in Bangalore, India’s batters haven’t been able to spend any meaningful time at the crease, which has reflected in totals of 46, 156 and 245 in three of their four digs against New Zealand.