India search for perfection in final

Behind his abrasive exterior, Gautam Gambhir is still searching for "that perfect game".

- 

Another coach may not want to be too hard on himself and his players after four wins in a row and think that there is no such thing as a perfect game. But this is the Gambhir way.

All coaches constantly chase results and excellence, that's what they sign up for. So Gambhir isn't any different. It's just that the Indian dressing room may be getting used to their new coach and he may now know them better. India has results to show and that's usually a good indicator.

If you had not been to a Gambhir media conference before, you may have thought he was a cocktail of a emotions only minutes after the win against Australia on Tuesday that earned India a ticket to the final on Sunday.

The Indian head coach scoffed at a question singling out Virat's importance in a run chase, then a little later, laud his senior batter for being a phenomenal ODI cricketer. He would critique his critics for over-relying on averages but pose KL Rahul's ODI average as the answer for why he was picked.

"I don't even care about it honestly," Gambhir replied when asked if he felt vindicated over team selections. That was just Gambhir being his confrontational self.

Whether you believed with Gambhir when he disagreed that India's Dubai home base has helped them, you couldn't dispute between him, captain and selectors, they have plotted to maximising that advantage as best they can.