Even as the Indian batting order put up a good show in the first innings of the ongoing Test match at Trent Bridge, batting coach Sanjay Bangar has said that the under-fire batsmen did feel the pinch and that there were several careers on the line.
The batting was abysmal in the first two Test and barring Virat Kohli, none of the other batsmen looked comfortable against the moving ball. This did draw an ire from the cricketing fraternity and prompted several scathing statements to be thrown towards the team.
However, the batting coach tried to play down such statements but conceded that there was pressure felt by batsmen.
'The players themselves are under pressure'
"...The players themselves are under tremendous pressure - they are playing for their careers. We understand that," Bangar said at the end of first day's play.
However, he did add that the onus lies on the batsmen to maintain composure and get the job done.
"To make at times when things don't really work in your favour, it is important to maintain composure, have the same sort of sense whether things are going well or not going well. Maintaining your equilibrium, that helps," Bangar added.
Apart from the players, there have been plenty of questions at the support staff and people wanting accountability from the coaches. Bangar, however, said that there was no magic wand and said that the team did face some tricky conditions in the recent past.
He further said that the batsmen tweaked their techniques which helped them a lot on the first day and said that this was the job of the support staff to impart confidence and provide inputs to the team.
"The way Shikhar (Dhawan) made the changes to his batting, the way he reduced his bat speed, the way he played the ball later, these adjustments he made in the last 6-7 days, he should get credit. KL Rahul, too, was playing on the back foot, and he was reacting after the ball's movement. These changes the batsmen have made make me hopeful for the rest of the series." Bangar said.
It was a much better performance from the Indian batting order as after the capitulation at Lord's, they managed to put up 329 runs on the board in the first innings. Virat Kohli top scored with 97 and Ajinkya Rahane gave him great support with 81 runs.
The visitors need to win this match to stay afloat in the series.
