Indian Batting Coach Vikram Rathour Defends Team’s Performance on Challenging Pitch with Excessive Turn

The Indian cricket team suffered a batting collapse in the third Test against Australia on a pitch that offered excessive turn. The team’s batting coach, Vikram Rathour, spoke to the media after the day’s play, defending the team’s ability to play on turners despite the poor performance. This article will delve into his comments and provide a detailed analysis.

Unexpected Nature of the Pitch

Rathour admitted that the pitch offered more turn than expected, possibly due to moisture. He also acknowledged that the wicket was challenging but reiterated that playing on turners is the team’s strength. While the team could have scored more runs, Rathour did not blame any of the batsmen for playing poor or rash cricket.

Risk of Playing on Turners

When asked about the risk of playing on turners, Rathour stated that the team could be at the receiving end at times but playing on turning tracks is their strength. However, he clarified that this wicket was a one-off and that the previous two pitches were not bad.

Curator’s Role

Rathour acknowledged that the curators did not have enough time to prepare the wicket as there was a Ranji season in the same venue, and the game was shifted from Dharamsala. Therefore, he felt that it was unfair to blame the curators for the nature of the pitch.

Assessment of the Pitch

Rathour felt that the pitch may have eased out as the day progressed, as evidenced by Usman Khawaja’s gritty innings. However, he refrained from making any concrete comments on the pitch and deferred to the players in the middle.

Deviating from Plans

When asked if the batsmen deviated from their plans, Rathour denied it. He stated that the plan was to trust their defense and wait for loose balls to score runs. However, he acknowledged that it was one of those days when everything they did went into the fielder’s hands.

Batsmen’s Performance

Rathour defended the batsmen’s performance, stating that the wickets were challenging, and the team wants to play on turning tracks. He praised the team’s batters for their performance in the series, highlighting Virat Kohli’s exceptional performance in the last game and Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel’s good innings in this match.

Pressure to Win Home Games

Rathour admitted that there is extra pressure to win home games since the World Test Championship (WTC) began in 2019. The WTC points system decides the qualification for the summit clash, leading teams to want to win games when playing at home. However, Rathour did not comment on whether neutral curators would be a better option.

Australia’s First Innings Lead

Australia has taken a 47-run lead, but Rathour is not too worried, considering they bat last on this pitch. He emphasized the importance of keeping Australia’s second innings score as low as possible and the need for India to bat well in the second innings.

Conclusion

The Indian cricket team’s batting coach, Vikram Rathour, defended the team’s performance on a challenging pitch that offered excessive turn. He praised the team’s ability to play on turning tracks and stated that the team did not deviate from their plans. While admitting that there is extra pressure to win home games due to the WTC points system, Rathour defended the team’s ability to play on turners and acknowledged the curators’ lack of preparation time. Finally, he emphasized the importance of keeping Australia’s second innings score low and the need for India to bat well in the second innings.