T20 World Cup 2024: India adept to deal with challenging New York pitch, says Rathour; Rohit gives fitness update

India skipper Rohit Sharma will be happy that he spent time in the middle against Ireland here on Wednesday. Rohit navigated a tough surface to make a 37-ball 52 – a knock that will boost his confidence ahead of tougher tests to come.

There was an injury scare late in the chase, when Rohit retired hurt after being struck by left-arm speedster Josh Little.

Rohit clarified that he was just “a little sore”, indicating that he will be fit for the next clash against Pakistan.

The Indian squad is packed with four spinners, but as it turns out, the surface here has greatly aided fast bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya made merry, which will prompt Rohit to stick to the winning combination.

“I don’t think the pitch settled down. There was enough in it for the bowlers, who just needed to stick to the basics. I don’t think we can play four spinners here. The spinners will play their part later in the tournament,” Rohit told the broadcaster in the post-match ceremony.

Batting coach Vikram Rathour did not read too much into concerns surrounding the pitch. Rathour believes that there is enough experience in the ranks to combat any pitfalls.

“It is a challenging wicket for batting, but we need to find ways to deal with it. We have enough skills and experience in the batting group to deal with that. We have enough good batters who can manage to bat well on any kind of surface. I think that has been our strength for many, many years. I think we can adapt really well to different conditions,” Rathour said.