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India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak dismissed all talks around team struggles against spin in the ongoing T20 World Cup. He said the batters followed their plans well in the last Group A match against Pakistan and did not move away from their strategy at any point.
Speaking before India’s final group stage clash against the Netherlands, Kotak highlighted that India’s total of 175 against Pakistan was the highest score by India against their rivals in T20 World Cup history. He felt the team carried out its plans properly and everyone played their assigned roles.
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Kotak on Tilak Varma's knock
Kotak also defended Tilak Varma, who scored 25 runs from 24 balls, hitting two fours and a six. Though it was not a flashy innings, Kotak said Tilak batted exactly as the team expected him to. India went on to win the match comfortably by 61 runs, after Pakistan failed to chase 176. It was India’s eighth win over Pakistan in T20 World Cup history.
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"No, I don't think so. Because what we had planned... By the way, India's 175 against Pakistan in the World Cup is the highest score in the T20 World Cup so far. So I think we executed what we had planned. Every player has a precise role that should not be discussed much. But I think Tilak played exactly the way the team wanted," Kotak said.
The coach explained that fans cannot expect batters to hit boundaries on every ball. According to him, building partnerships was more important in that match. He said the pitch had an average score of around 160, so reaching 175 was a strong effort.
Kotak on Suryakumar Yadav's knock
Kotak added that innings like Suryakumar Yadav’s were played according to the match situation. Sometimes, if a few extra boundaries are hit, the innings may look more impressive, but that does not mean the plan was different. He believed the team stuck to its approach and performed well.
"Everything, including Surya's innings and whatever you saw, was more or less what we have decided. And sometimes it happens in matches that if one or two boundaries are set, then people won't feel that way. Now, we can't expect the boundary to be hitwhenever we want. So I think he played really well. We were more focused on those partnerships. The wicket, the par score there is around 160. So I think it was brilliant. It wasn't anything we thought he could have done something different," he added.
Defending champions India will face the Netherlands in their final Group A match on February 18 at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The Men in Blue have already qualified for the Super Eight stage after winning all three of their group matches so far.
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