On the first day of the third Test between India and Australia on Wednesday, the Indian team were bundled out for just 109 runs, their 11th-lowest total in the first innings. On the same pitch of Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore, Australia managed to reach 156/4 at stumps and finished day 1 with a 47-run lead. India batting coach Vikram Rathour gave his take on the side's batting collapse at the venue.
The ball turning square at the beginning of the match at the venue attracted a lot of attention with many criticising the nature of the surface. However, according to Rathour, playing on turners at home remains the team's strength.
"It is a challenging wicket for sure. More turn than we expected. Maybe because of the moisture, the ball turned sharply in the morning. We could have made more runs for sure but I don't think anyone played poor or rash cricket. We just had an off day as a batting unit," Rathour said.
Rathour also spoke about the risk of playing on turners.
"Of course, you can get out as a batting unit at times but we do prefer to play on turning tracks. That is our strength, that is where we are really good as a unit. To be fair this is a one-off wicket.
"I don’t think the earlier two wickets were bad wickets. It is maybe drier than we expected and we saw that. It did a lot more on the first day of the Test match than we expected.
The venue of the third Test was shifted from Dharamsala to Indore. The reason behind the change of venue was that the stadium was not fit to host international cricket after a recent renovation.
"To be fair to curators. They hardly got time to prepare the wicket. They had a Ranji season here and it is pretty late it that was decided the game will be shifted from Dharamsala. They did not get enough time," said the former India opener.
Rathour felt that the wicket eased as the day progressed.
"It felt like that (that wicket eased out). I won't be able to comment on that. The guys playing the middle can tell you that better. It felt like it had gone slower later in the day. It wasn’t turning as sharply as it was in the morning."
Rathour also gave insights into the strategy of the batters before entering the field and the execution.
"The plan was to trust your defense and wait for the loose balls and score as many as runs you can. It was one of those days when everything you did went into the hands (of fielders). Basically, we just had an off day," he said.
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