India dominated Day 4 of the first Test match against New Zealand as the touring side had lost one wicket at the end of the day and they need 284 runs to win the clash in Kanpur.
Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have failed to deliver with the bat yet again and that rose questions of them being the part of the squad for the next Test match when regular skipper Virat Kohli will return to the side.
Meanwhile, India batting coach Vikram Rathour has backed the senior batters and said that they will bounce back from lean run of form.
“Of course, you want the top-order to contribute. But, as you mentioned, the cricketers who have played 80 and 90 Test matches, so they have the experience. To play that many games, they must have done well for us. I understand that both of them are going through a lean phase but they have played very, very important knocks in the past. We are pretty sure that they will bounce back and play pretty important knocks for the team in future as well,” said Rathour while replying to a query about the lack of returns from the two senior cricketers.
Rahane has scored 411 runs in 21 innings at an average of 19.57, while hasn’t delivered as well with the bat. Pujara has not scored a Test ton since 2019 Sydney Test.
Asked on how long the team management can continue with diminishing returns from both batters, Rathour said, “I don’t think we can put a number to that. That really depends on the situation the team is in and what the team requires. With the captain (Virat Kohli) coming back in, it will happen in the next game. We will get to that point when we reach Mumbai. At this point, we are focused on this game. There is a day to go and a game to be won. So, we are really focused on this game and we will get to that point once we land in Mumbai.”
