We could have been more disciplined against Nepal: Vikram Rathour

The scoreboard might show that India defeated Nepal by 10 wickets in Pallekele, but in reality, it was not as easy as it looked. They have themselves to blame for it. The Indian fielders dropped three simple catches in the first five overs of the match, allowing Nepal to post a competitive 230. Moreover, their bowling, especially by the fast bowlers, was average, and the ground fielding was nothing to write home about.

However, rain played spoilsport once again, and India were handed a 145-run target in 23 overs, which they achieved without losing a single wicket with almost three overs to spare with Rohit Sharma (74 off 59) and Shubman Gill (67 off 62) remaining unbeaten.

Team India batting coach Vikram Rathour has called his team to be more disciplined in the upcoming matches, including the massive clash against Pakistan in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup 2023 on Sunday (September 10).

"The wicket today was good, better than the last one during Pakistan. We could have been more disciplined. The three dropped catches helped them. They batted well...Glad nothing major happened [because of the dropped catches]. It was good to see how we responded to it [the target]," Rathour said at the post-match press conference.

Speaking of the clash against Pakistan, Rathour says that his batters are more than capable of playing their pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah well, despite them sharing all the 10 Indian wickets between them in the washed-out game earlier in the tournament.

"Pakistan has a good bowling attack. The new ball was doing well, and the wicket offered help [in the group match]. The rain broke the rhythm. All factors were there. It is not like we can't play them. Our batters are also capable of playing [well] and getting a big start," the batting coach said.

Rathour was also pleased with the depth at India's disposal. "We have 15 players in the squad to test different combinations against different teams in different conditions. Shardul [Thakur] gives us batting depth...If we want to go all out with our fast bowlers, we have that as an option option. We have the option to play one more spinner, as well as we have Axar Patel. It is good to have these options," he said.

However, The big question remains if KL Rahul will play in the remainder of the tournament and make the World Cup squad, set to be announced later today. Rathour remained mum about it and said that the team management would take a call on that, but the selection dilemma was a good headache to have.

"Ishan played really well. He has been doing really good. But KL has also done well for two years. It is a good problem to have. Team management will take the final decision," Rathour said.