Kohli has to play the cover-drive but under different situations, says batting coach Vikram Rathour
Batting coach Vikram Rathour was optimistic about Indiaโs chances on the final day.
โThere is a bit of variable bounce in the surface now. The ball is keeping up and down. If we hit the right length consistently as we did today, we are in with a good chance.โ
Asked about Jasprit Bumrahโs incoming delivery that dismissed Rassie van der Dussen, Rathour said, โThatโs the quality of the bowler. He set him up beautifully.โ
Rathour felt India batted well in the first innings. โRahul and Mayank had that opening partnership. And there were contributions from Virat and Rahane. I thought we did well.โ
Asked about Virat Kohli being dismissed attempting a cover-drive outside the off-stump in the second innings, Rathour said, โThis shot brings him a lot of runs. So he has to play the shot. When to play the shot, under what situations, we need to have discussions.โ
Despite several batters being hit on the knuckles by some hostile pace bowling by the South African quicks, Rathour said, โEveryone is fine.”
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Asked about the form of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, Rathour said, โRahane looked in really good touch. Itโs unfortunate that he got out. Pujara has played several important innings for us in the past.โ
He added, โWe need to be patient with them. Are we getting impatient? Not at this stage.โ
Talking about Rishabh Pant and his crucial 34 on day four, Rathour said, โHeโs working hard on his batting, his fitness. It was an important innings for us today. He can bat in different ways.โ
Focusing on KL Rahul, Rathour said, โHeโs always been a very good batsman. In the middle, he lost his form and place. But despite playing all formats, he is batting with a lot of discipline in Test cricket now.โ