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The dwindling form of Indian batters Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer remained a major topic of discussion in Wednesday’s pre-match press conference for the 2nd Test between India and England. Addressing the media in the build-up to the 2nd Test against England, Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour has given clear instructions to premier batters of the Asian giants.
Despite starting the 1st Test as overwhelming favourites, Rohit Sharma and Co. were outclassed by Ben Stokes’ England in the Hyderabad opener on Saturday. India earned a 190-run lead over the visitors in the first innings of the series opener. However, Ollie Pope’s record-setting knock, followed by Tom Hartley’s seven-wicket haul in the 2nd innings turned the tie on its head.
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Defending Iyer and Shubman amid their below-par batting performances, Rathour opined that the critics need to be patient with underfire batters. “There are young batters in our team who have not played much Test cricket. So, we need to be a bit patient with them. Batters like (Shubman) Gill, (Yashasvi) Jaiswal and (Shreyas) Iyer will eventually start getting big runs, I’m sure of it,” Rathour told reporters.
Premier batter Shubman scored 23 off 66 balls before the Indian batter was handed a two-ball duck in the 2nd innings. Gill’s teammate Iyer scored 35 off 63 balls in India’s first essay. In the 2nd innings, Iyer perished for 13 off 31 balls as India folded for 202 to lose the match by 28 runs.
“There’s a difference between playing with intent and playing attacking cricket. I want them to play with intent. If there is the opportunity to score some runs, they should take it. They need to decide by looking at the surface and conditions. So, the batters need to possess that intelligence as to which is the best or safest shot on the surface,” Rathour explained.
In his last nine Test innings, Gill has failed to score a half-century for India. Before making his return to the Test side, Iyer scored only 41 runs against South Africa in the two-game series. After losing the first Test to England, Rohit and Co. will hope to bounce back in the upcoming encounter on Friday. India are without former skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and ex-vice-captain KL Rahul for the 2nd Test against England.
“Could they have batted with more discipline? Maybe they could have. That’s what they need to decide and come up with their plans. But, they need to score runs by playing their shots, as you need to back your strengths. Batting is always about scoring runs. It’s not about not getting out but how many runs you put on the board,” he added.
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