Indian skipper Virat Kohli has stated that he believes the pitch was a good one to bat on right from Day 1 so his decision to bat first wasn’t one that he regretted. Having won the toss, Kohli opted to bat first under cloudy conditions which backfired as the team folded up for 78 within 41 overs.
Kohli stood by his decision to bat first despite the horror show from the Indian batsmen on Day 1. The ball was moving around early on as James Anderson looked in full swing. However, it wasn’t as much about the bowling as it was about the poor stroke-play from the batsmen.
James Anderson after picking up Virat Kohli’s wicket in the 1st innings. (Image: Twitter)
It was probably the byproduct of the Lord’s win, which triggered a bit of complacency in the batting line-up. India fell to 4/2 inside the first thirty minutes, and never really recovered from it. Speaking about it at the post-match presentation, Kohli said:
“I don’t regret my decision at the toss. Pitch looked really good to bat, you could see that when England batted. Our bowlers were probably not consistent enough. We were just not on the money in this game and England were.”
Ollie Robinson (Image Credit ICC)
“You can argue that we don’t have the depth in our side” – Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli revealed that it’s hard to decide the team combination if the top-order doesn’t contribute much with the bat. Also, he pointed out that India came back well after the debacle in Adelaide against Australia.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli (Image: Twitter)
“You expect them to bounce back. You can argue that we don’t have the depth in our side. The top order has to give enough runs for the lower middle order to step up. We can take a lot of positives from the second innings. We bounced back really well even after that innings [at Adelaide] when we got bowled out for 36,” Kohli added.
The series stands level at 1-1, and both the teams will now head back to London, to play the fourth Test match at The Oval.
