Team India hammered Ireland by eight wickets to open their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Wednesday (June 5).
However, the track served for the match is hogging the headlines more than India’s exceptional performance.
The disconcerting bounce on the new drop-in pitch has raised significant safety concerns. But India batting coach Vikram Rathour feels that Men in Blue have enough experience and skills in the team to deal with the “challenging pitches”.
Notably, India’s three Group A matches are scheduled in New York, including the high-octane encounter against Pakistan on June 9.
During the Ireland game, India skipper Rohit Sharma was forced to retire after being hit on a right biceps by a Joshua Little delivery. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was also hit on his left elbow while batting.
“(We are) trying to control the controllable. 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,” Rathour said in the post-match press conference.
“We need to find a way to deal with it and we have enough skills in the team and enough experience in the team to deal with it. We should be fine,” he added.
While Rathour acknowledged that winning the toss becomes important in such conditions, he was not sure of a good first-innings total.
“The toss is crucial in conditions like these but fortunately, we won the toss so it was a great start, but you again can’t control that. Even if we lose the toss and we have to bat first, we still need to find ways to deal with the situation and the pitch,” he stated.
“As many as we can get. I’m not going to put any number to that. We need to bat well and maximise whatever we can get. Whatever you can get,” he further remarked.
The batting coach highlighted the need to be brave on such pitches and adapt to the surface.
“We can adapt really well to different conditions and on this surface you really need to adapt well and take it head-on and not worry about it too much,” Rathour said.
It took the Indian bowlers just 16 overs to bundle Ireland out for a mere 96 after Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first. No Irish batters managed to touch the 30-run mark. Gareth Delany was the top scorer with 26 off 14 balls.
While Hardik Pandya (3/27 in 4 overs) claimed three wickets, Jasprit Bumrah (2/6 in 3 overs) and Arshdeep Singh (2/35 in 4 overs) returned with two scalps each. Akshar Patel (1/3 in 1 over) and Mohammed Siraj (1/13 in 3 overs) also chipped in with wicket apiece.
In reply, Rohit slammed a half-century (52 retd hurt off 37) while Pant remained unbeaten on 36 off 26 balls to take India over the line with 46 deliveries to spare.
