Cardiff, July 17 (IANS) India batting coach defended Rohit Sharma’s lean run against England, saying the veteran opener is too good a player to feel pressured; he just faced tough playing conditions.

Rohit, who made 11 in the series opener, made 26 off 43 balls in the second ODI at Cardiff and looked scratchy as he ambled to his slowest 25-plus score in ODIs by strike-rate.

“I don’t think that a player as big as Rohit (Sharma) can feel any pressure. He’s too good a player to feel that. Yes, he didn’t get runs. I don’t think that makes any difference. Today also, it looked like he’ll probably get a good innings. But that’s okay,” Kotak said in the post-match press conference.

“I have played a lot of cricket, and I have seen a lot of cricket. On a day, there are a lot of batters who don’t get the momentum they are looking for, and that can happen. You might see a completely different innings from Rohit Sharma at Lord’s. So, I wouldn’t use the word “struggling”. Maybe the shots he normally plays on the up, because of the double bounce, he probably felt were not comfortable.”

“Shubman (Gill) got a quick start, then Virat got a quick start, but Rohit probably didn’t get balls in his areas or didn’t get going. That’s what I felt. So I wouldn’t say he was struggling because you could definitely see a completely different innings from a player like Rohit. I have seen that happen to a lot of batters. So it’s not just Rohit. I wouldn’t use the word “struggling”, he added.

Earlier, talismanic batter Virat Kohli, head coach Gautam Gambhir were reportedly seen avoiding direct interaction during India’s Edgbaston practice. But, Kotak dismissed such claims and said there was no need for a bridge between the two.

“Virat and Gautam, they must have talked 10 times today. I don’t think he needs a bridge. Virat, basically, before going into batting, talked about certain things. Honestly, as a batting coach, till the time he doesn’t feel anything or he doesn’t see anything, his batting shouldn’t be disturbed. You shouldn’t say much because of the way he bats. Mainly, about how his footwork was going and certain things, he asked me before. Then, after the nets, we were talking. Apart from that, what you’re saying, I don’t know where the rumours come from, but they do come,” Kotak said.

Batting first, India looked well placed at 178/3 before suffering a dramatic collapse, losing their last seven wickets for just 55 runs to be bowled out for 233 in 44 overs. Chasing a modest target of 234, England rode on Root’s composed 99 not out off 133 balls. Gus Atkinson played a crucial supporting hand with an unbeaten 23, sealing the chase with 35 balls to spare.

Reflecting on India’s innings, Kotak admitted that Washington Sundar’s injury and quick dismissals of Axar Patel and Shivam Dube derailed India’s scoring rate.

“When there is double pace or double bounce, it’s more about adapting better. Everybody knew because Virat, while he was batting, sent a message to us and also told the head coach that the short balls were actually not going through. So, we knew.

“Personally, I felt that Washington’s injury happened when he ran the first run towards mid-off. It looked like a hamstring injury, and it looks like a bad injury. Then, the next ball, he got out. From there, we again wanted a partnership, but unfortunately, we lost Axar and Shivam,” he said.

With the series evenly poised at 1-1, both teams will look to seal the three-match series when they face off in the third ODI at Lord’s on Sunday, which could be Rohit Sharma’s last match for India.

–IANS

bc/