After the hosts were bundled out for 109 in their first innings on the opening day of the third Test against Australia, batting coach Vikram Rathour on Wednesday said it was a disappointing day for the Indian batsmen as the pitch turned more than they expected. On the same pitch, Australia scored 156 runs at stumps for the loss of four wickets and gained a significant lead of 47 runs. The ball began to turn in the very first hour of play, which was criticized by many for the nature of the pitch.
India were bowled out in just over a session with Australian left-arm spinner Matt Kuhneman taking five for 16. However, Rathore said playing on turning pitches at home is the team’s strong point. Rathore said in the press conference, “It is definitely a challenging wicket. It is taking more turns than we expected. Maybe it was because of the moisture, the ball was turning faster in the morning. We definitely could have scored more but I don’t think anyone played bad cricket. Just a disappointing day for us as a batting unit. ,
Talking about the perils of playing on a turn-taking pitch, Rathour said that at times they too might fall behind but it will always be the team’s strength. He said, “Definitely as a batting unit you can get out sometimes but we still prefer to play on turning pitches. This is our strength, as a unit we are very strong in this. To be honest, it is a different wicket of its own kind. ,
Rathore said, “I don’t think the wickets in the first two matches were bad. It’s probably a little drier than we expected and we saw that. There was a lot of turn on the first day of the Test match, which was more than expected. The former Indian opener said, “The curators hardly got time to prepare the wicket.” It was Ranji season here and there was a lot of delay in deciding the match which was shifted here from Dharamshala. He didn’t get much time. ,
Rathour felt that the wicket would have gotten easier as the day progressed. Usman Khawaja of Australia scored 60 runs in 147 balls and the pitch did not seem to be turning as fast as in the morning. Asked if the batsmen deviated from their plans, he replied in the negative, “Not like that. The plan was to rely on our ‘defense’ and wait for the loose ball to score as many runs as possible. It was one of those days when your every shot went to the fielders. It was a disappointing day for us. On Australia taking the lead, Rathore said, “Taking the lead is not a big issue as they will have to bat in the fourth innings on this pitch as well.” Now the challenge will be to bundle them out for the least possible score. We have to get a good score in the second innings.
