Head coach of Team India’s batting team Vikram Rathour has stood by captain Rohit Sharma after he was caught by Kagiso Rabada attempting a hook early on the first day of the Centurion Test. India ended Day 1 of the Centurion Test against South Africa at 208/8 with KL Rahul (70* off 105) holding the innings together.
The team management would support Rohit in taking on the short ball because the Indian skipper believes in playing the stroke, Rathour noted, adding that Rohit is frequently referred to as the greatest puller in the world.
When South Africa asked India to bat first in difficult conditions, captain Rohit (5) fell to Rabada, causing India to suffer a major setback in the first session of the Boxing Day Test. The Proteas pacer threw a short ball to the Indian captain, who could only make a catch to long leg.
“This is the shot he scores a lot of runs with”- Vikram Rathour backs Rohit Sharma on playing pull shot
The Indian captain received some backlash for his stroke selection. Nevertheless, batting coach Vikram Rathour backed Rohit when he spoke at the conclusion of the first day’s play in Centurion. He was quoted as saying by India Today:
“Rohit, I mean, I have spoken about it earlier as well. This is the shot he believes in, this is the shot he scores a lot of runs with. This is his shot. So, he is going to play this shot.”
Further, Vikram Rathour went on, saying that someday it will work and someday it won’t. As we have heard, people say that he is the best puller in the world. As team management, we will back him.
“Some days, it will come off. Some days, it won’t. So today, it didn’t. We can talk about it. On another day, he will hit for a six and everybody will say this is the shot he plays really well. We have heard people say he is the best puller in the world. He believes in it. We are okay, as a team management we are backing it,” the former India opener went on to add.
“It was a good recovery partnership from Kohli and Shreyas” – Vikram Rathour
India lost 3/24 after being asked to bat first and had an awful start. The visitors were assisted by a fourth-wicket stand of 68 runs from Virat Kohli (38) and Shreyas Iyer (31) before Rahul led them past 200. Rathour remarked after considering the Kohli-Shreyas partnership.
“The condition was tough. After losing three wickets, it was a good recovery partnership from Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, they both have played well.”
Vikram Rathour went on to say that given the circumstances, batting will always be difficult and that India performed admirably. He added that the wicket was under cover for a day or more, considering whether they had done reasonably well.
“It was always going to be challenging. The weather was an issue. The wicket was under cover for a day or more than that. It was always going to be challenging as batting group. We would have loved to have couple of more wickets in hand. But we have done reasonably well,” Rathour reflected.
Rabada led South Africa with 5/44, while newcomer Nandre Burger struck 2/50.