T20 World Cup | India's batting struggle more to do with difficult UAE pitches, says batting coach Vikram Rathour

India lost by 8 wickets against the Kiwis on Sunday. In their first match against Pakistan, India somehow managed to post 151 runs on the board after losing three quick wickets. They lost their tournament opener by an appaling 10-wicket margin against the Babar Azam-led side. 

In fact, against New Zealand, the Virat Kohli-led team failed to score a single boundary between 6-15 overs.

Ahead of India's clash against Afghanistan on Wednesday, batting coach Vikram Rathour has blamed UAE pitches for Men in Blue's dismal show at the ongoing ICC showpiece event. 

“Batting first on these surfaces is not easy. Any team who are batting first is struggling. We failed to execute the big shots but it is more to do the surface,” Rathour told reporters.

Vikram Rathour, who has reapplied for the position of Team India batting coach, rued the fact that Indian batters failed to rotate the strike against the Kiwis. However, the 52-year-old also admitted that India have not lived up to the expecatations. 

“Strike rotation has been an issue in the middle over against New Zealand. On this surface it is difficult to rotate the strike. I am not saying only we have struggled, every team batting first are struggling,” said Rathour.

“But being a world champion, you have to find a way to win against all the odds, and we have failed to do it,” he added.

After losing their first two matches, India are virtually out of the semi-finals race. The team will have to win their remaining three matches with huge margins and also expect some other results to fall in their favour, to make it to the final four.