Hat-tricks are not always a good thing. For bowlers, yes, they are special, but for the other side, they bring only pain. India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir knows that feeling all too well not from a bowler’s hat-trick, but from a team one. I’m talking about India’s 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand last year, a first in India’s 91-year Test history. Since playing their inaugural home Test way back in 1933, India had never been whitewashed in a series of three or more matches. Earlier, India had remained unbeaten at home for 12 consecutive years. They had lost no four home Tests even in those years. Then came one of the lowest points in Indian Test cricket, one Gambhir will not forget anytime soon. Playing the West Indies in the recent home series, he reminded himself of how bad that feeling was. Now Gambhir also risks another type of hat-trick that of series losses. India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney earlier this year, not retaining it for the first time in a decade. That was Gambhir's debut Test series as coach in Australia, and he lost it. His team also lost the ODI series there just a few days ago. Also Read | Is Rohit Sharma retiring after Australia series? Viral video sparks confusions With that, he's already lost 0-2 and will certainly want to prevent an all-format whitewash against Australia within a period of 11 months. That makes the coming T20I series even crucial for him. Although such a victory of these five games may not immediately guarantee Gambhir's tenure as India's head coach, another such drubbing is definitely going to tarnish his reputation. Most importantly, it is going to give Australia even more confidence. They have already defeated India twice in recent times in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup and the final of the 2023 World Test Championship demonstrating that although India are the best team in all forms, Australia still appear to be on top.