India have struggled to defend targets in T20I cricket of late. In Asia Cup, India could not defend against Sri Lanka and Pakistan which led to them getting knocked out from Super 4 stage. Ahead of the T20I series against South Africa, Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour has cited "dew" as a major factor in India's inability to defend totals.
"We are working on that area of getting better at defending targets. But to be fair to our bowlers, toss plays a vital role and every time we have not been able to defend are the places where there has been dew, so it gets easier to chase," Rathour said in the press conference on the eve of first T20I which will be played at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.
While Rathour cited "dew" as a factor, skipper Rohit Sharma did not blame it on the conditions after India failed to defend a 200-plus target against Aaron Finch-led Australia in Mohali.
"I won't be harsh on bowlers as they have been able to push the match till last over, every time, when we are looking to defend. It's one ball here and there but of course we are doing pretty well but hopefully we will get better," Rathour said.
The 53-year-old did not agree with the opinion that India have not been able to put big enough targets while batting first as he said, "Definitely, it depends on the surface that we are playing on but when you say we haven't been able to put up good scores, I don't agree with that.
"I think batting first that was one of the concerns during the last T20 World Cup but since then, we have been putting up par or par plus scores every time that we have batted first. So I don't think that's an issue."
Rathour also talked about adapting to conditions in T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
"Adapting to Australian conditions will be the biggest challenge that we have. We want to give as much opportunities as possible to those playing in the World Cup but how that will happen depends on game situation," the former Indian batter said.
Before taking on Pakistan in their campaign opener on October 23, India will also take on hosts Australia and New Zealand in warm-up matches which will help them adapt to the conditions.
