Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are lean but still green

Batting coach Vikram Rathour understands fully that Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are now India players living on borrowed timeBut the former opener on Sunday couldnrsquot give a definitive answer as to who would sit out in order to accommodate skipper Virat Kohlirsquos comeback in the next Test against New ZealandCheteshwar PujaraDebutant Shreyas Iyer showed his icecool temperament under pressure to stand tall with a fine halfcentury which placed India in a commanding position as they set up a stiff victory target of 284 for NZ on Day Four of the first Test here on SundayIndia declared at 2347 for al lead of 283 and gave the Black Caps four tricky overs to face under fading light during which they managed four runs and lost opener Will Young to R AshwinVikram RathourWith Shreyas Iyer scoring 105 and 65 on debut it would be almost criminal to drop the stylish Mumbaikar and understandably Rathour had to fend questions on Pujara and Rahanersquos form going into the Mumbai Test starting on December 3 ldquoOf course you want the toporder to contribute but cricketers Pujara and Rahane you mentioned they have played 80 79 for Rahane and 90 Tests 91 Test for Pujara To play that many games they must have done well for usrdquo Rathour tried his best to defend the 2021 Test average of below 20 by the standin captain 1957 and 3042 by his deputyrdquoPast perfectldquoWe understand that both of them are going through a lean phase but we understand that they have both played important knocks for us in the past We are pretty sure that they are going to come back and play important knocks for usrdquo Rathourrsquos statement lacked convictionBut whatrsquos the kind of long rope that one gives a senior player who has been a past performer Is it 15 or 20 Tests The former Punjab opener who played six Tests during the 199697 season felt that it canrsquot be quantified ldquoI donrsquot think you can put a number to that It depends on situation the team is in and what the team is required to dordquo he said The next question was even more straightforward whom do you drop when Kohli takes his slot back in the Mumbai gameDeal with Mumbai laterldquoCaptain coming back in that will happen in next game and we will get to that point when we reach Mumbai The focus is on this game and there is a day to go and a game to be won We will get to that point when we get in Mumbairdquo the opener of yesteryears deadbatted the query ldquoOnce we land in Mumbai we will take that call what our playing XI is going to berdquo he repeatedIt is going to be a tightrope walk for the Indian team management when its best batter comes back in the next gameBrief scoresIndia 345 amp 2347 decl S Iyer 65 W Saha 61 R Ashwin 382 v NZ 296 amp 41 T Latham 2 W Young 2 R Ashwin 13This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever