'We are sure they will come back' - India's batting coach Vikram Rathour backs under-fire Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane to come good

India’s senior willow wielders Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are going through lean patches with the willow in Test match cricket. Both these batters failed to make substantial contributions with the bat in the 1st Test against New Zealand.

While Pujara scored 26 and 22 in the 2 innings that he played in the 1st Test, Rahane could only manage scores of 35 and 4 in both innings. And, the batting coach of the Indian cricket team, Vikram Rathour has backed the veterans to come good. Rathour opined that both Pujara and Rahane have contributed vital runs in the past, and will continue to do so in the future as well.

“I understand both Rahane and Pujara are going through lean phases – but they have played very important knocks in past – we are pretty sure they would come back and play more such knocks for the team,” said Rathour in the post-match press conference at the end of Day 4. You can see the tweet below.

Indian batting coach (in Press) said "I understand both Rahane and Pujara are going through lean phases – but they have played very important knocks in past – we are pretty sure they would come back and play more such knocks for the team".

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 28, 2021

Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have not scored a single Test century in 2021

Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have both not scored a single Test century in the whole of 2021. While Rahane has scored just 411 runs in 21 innings this year at an average of under 20, Pujara has aggregated 639 runs this year at an average of just above 30.

Also, while Rahane has scored just 2 fifties in the whole of 2021 in Test cricket, Pujara has plundered 6 half-centuries. As far as the Test match between India and New Zealand is concerned, New Zealand have been set a target of 284 for victory in the 2nd innings of the 1st Test and ended Day 4 with their scorecard reading 4/1.

For India, Shreyas Iyer has been the star performer in the 1st rubber. While the right-hander scored a century in the 1st innings, he followed that up with a classy 65 in the second.