Rajendra Prasad Mohapatra
Cuttack, Oct 16: Even though he is upbeat about the chances of Orissa’s outright victory over Assam in the ongoing Ranji Trophy tie at the Barabati Stadium here, the poor batting form of seniors is a big worry for newly-appointed state batting coach Rashmi Ranjan Parida.
“We have the upper hand against Assam, in spite of conceding the narrow first innings lead,” Rashmi stated here Friday. “The pitch has eased up considerably and as the match progresses, batting will become considerably easier. Our bowlers have done a fantastic job in the second innings. If our batsmen apply themselves there is no reason as to why we can’t win outright,” he added.
Rashmi also pointed out that the lack of mental toughness among the batsmen has been a cause for concern. “They have to realise that they have to get runs at any cost. That is what I am trying to emphasise,” he stated. “We have batted well but somehow failed to finish things. This happened in last two games against Vidarbha and Maharashtra, where we could have batted a little better. A coach can only guide a player, it is the player who has to perform in the middle,” the former middle-order batsman added.
Rashmi is also concerned about the forms of senior guys like Biplab Samantray and Natraj Behera. “Our youngsters like Govind Poddar, Anurag Sarangi and Pratik Das have batted well. “But it’s the poor form of experienced players that have let Orissa down so far,” said Rashmi. “But I have not lost hope. They are good players and just one innings away from striking form,” he added confidently.
Talking about last season’s skipper Abhilash Mallick’s omission from the two opening games, Rashmi said: “Abhilash was not in good nick at the nets. So, we did not include him. But now that he has got the chance, I am sure he will come good in the second
innings.”
Rashmi agreed that Orissa’s performances so far have not been satisfactory. “Yeah, we have been a bit rusty to start with. This is because we did not get much time to prepare as the season started earlier this year. I have just taken the mantle of working with the Orissa batsmen. I need some time and hopefully things will change soon,” he signed off.
