New York: Batting coach Vikram Rathour speaking to the media has said that India have enough experience and skill to deal with the challenging pitch of the Nassau County Ground, whose uneven bounce has raised concerns. However, Rathour also admitted that the toss becomes important in such conditions. Captain Rohit Sharma had to leave the field after being hit on the right bicep by a ball from Josh Little during India’s eight-wicket win over Ireland in the first match of the T20 World Cup on Wednesday. Rishabh Pant also suffered an injury on the left elbow during his unbeaten 36-run innings, another sign of the uneven bounce and variable pace of the pitch.
Winning the toss is most important
In the post-match press conference, Rathour said that we are trying to stay in control. It was a challenging wicket and we were expecting such a wicket because we played a practice match here, so we knew what to expect. The former India opener said that we need to find a way to deal with it and our team has enough skill and enough experience to deal with it. Although he admitted that winning the toss becomes important in such conditions, he was not sure about a good score in the first innings. He said that the toss is very important in such conditions, but fortunately, we won the toss, so it was a great start, but you cannot control it again.
Pant and Pandya returned only after proving fitness and form
India have to play two more matches on this pitch, including a thrilling match against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday, Rathour expressed confidence that the team’s batting group will find ways to score runs. He said that we have very good batsmen who can bat well on any kind of surface – this has been our strength for many years. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will continue to bat at number 3 in the T20 World Cup, who performed brilliantly in the first match. Rathour also expressed happiness over the return of a fully fit Hardik Pandya. Rathour said that yes, at the moment Pant is our number 3 batsman, because he is a left-handed batsman, so we expect more help from him. He is batting really well. He has looked really good in the two matches he has played (warm-up and Ireland).
Both Pant and Pandya have returned to the Indian team for the T20 World Cup after proving their fitness and form in the IPL. Even though he did not score too many runs as captain of Mumbai Indians, India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar had said that there is no one in the country who can match Pandya’s skills as an all-rounder. On Wednesday, Pandya showed speed and accuracy with his line and length and took 3 wickets for 27 runs in 4 overs in his first match since October 2023. Rathore said that Hardik looked really good. I mean, in the first match as well as in practice, he is bowling really well. He is looking fit enough to bowl four overs and he is bowling with some pace and some accuracy, so yes, it is very good.
