- By Namrata Vijay
- Thu, 06 Jun 2024 09:11 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Ind vs Ire, 2024 T20 World Cup: Vikram Rathour, who is team India’s batting coach wasn’t too critical of the pitch in New York and admitted that although it was challenging it is also the batter's responsibility to adapt to these conditions. The pitch used at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium was criticized heavily after the match between India and Ireland turned out to be a low-scoring affair on Wednesday.
Ireland was skittled out for 96 runs, which was their second-lowest total in this format. India’s Arshdeep Singh looked in sublime form as he rattled Ireland's batting lineup with the help of the new ball and then Hardik Pandya came in and took three wickets. The pacers took advantage of the uneven bounce and then the Irish batters started gifting their wickets as the pitch started playing mind games with them.
In reply, India suffered an early blow as opener Virat Kohli was dismissed for scoring just one run during the powerplay. Skipper Rohit Sharma too struggled as he swung a lot of times during the powerplay and then got going. The Irish pacers were able to swing the ball both ways as Rohit and Rishabh Pant, who came into bat at No.3 position were struggling to score runs.
Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah reveals the mantra how to bowl successfully in New York
India chased down the target in 12.2 overs, on the back of Rohit Sharma’s match-winning half-century but then he had to retire hurt since he injured his arm.
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Rishabh Pant also received blows on his body, but he remained unbeaten on 36 runs off 26 balls and led his team to victory.
"It was a challenging wicket, and we were expecting a challenging wicket because we played a practice game here. So, we knew what to expect. So, it is what it is. We need to find a way to deal with it and I think we have enough skills in the team and enough experience in the team to deal with it. We should be fine," Vikram Rathour told reporters in the post-match press conference.
"As I said earlier, it is a challenging wicket as far as batting is concerned but this is what we have so we need to find ways to deal with it. As I said earlier, we have enough skills and experience in the batting group especially to deal with that. We have enough good batters who can manage to bat well on any kind of surface. I think that has been our strength for many, many years. I think we can adapt well to different conditions, and I think on this surface you need to adapt well and take it head-on and not worry about it too much," he added.
A lot of experts criticized the pitch’s nature as former England cricketer Michael Vaughan said that the Nassau County International cricket stadium isn’t ideal to hold a T20I World Cup.
But at the same time, Vikram Rathour pointed out the fact that the pitch curators might not have had sufficient time to make proper pitches. It should be noted here that the work for this stadium in New York only began in January this year wherein the drop in pitches was brought in from Adelaide.
"I am sure it has been challenging for the curators or for ICC to create something here in the past 6-7 months or whatever time they have taken. It was never going to be easy," he said.
Rathour also revealed that the hype around this mega-event, which is being held in the USA for the first time, has been good.
"But it is exciting to be at a place like the USA, we can see there's a lot of excitement. We're meeting a lot of people who are excited because cricket has come to the USA or New York for the first time. So, it's good to be here. And we're looking to play good cricket and give our best basically,” he further said.
The Rohit Sharma-led side will lock horns with Pakistan in New York on Sunday, June 9.
