Virat Kohli : Test probably shifted in their favour when we batted in the first innings

After enduring his second-ever Test loss at home as a captain, Virat Kohli accepted the loss on his chin but reasoned that India’s sloppy batting in the first innings changed the course of the game for good.

India’s dominant home run in the last decade, especially after losing to Alastair Cook’s England in the 2012 winter, was a testament to India’s growing reputation as the best side at home. The sustained success was nothing but a marker of their ruthless policy of bossing the opposition right from the word go.

However, England beat India in its own formula by putting up a huge first innings score and then backing up with a fantastic bowling display. Kohli feels that the team could have batted more sensibly in the first innings to avoid conceding a huge first-innings total.

“I think the Test probably shifted in their favour when we batted in the first innings. Because we were looking to bat long and we were not able to do that,” Virat Kohli said in the post-match presentation on Tuesday (February 9).

“There was not enough application shown by us in the batting unit, something that we take a lot of pride in.”

“As a batting unit, it becomes important to come as close to their total as possible. The crucial phases where a match can turn, those are the phases we need to capture as a batting unit,” Kohli said.

Despite minimal returns as a batsman, since that MCG Test, Ajinkya Rahane continues to be a mainstay of the side. On being asked about the Test batsman’s batting form, Kohli stated that Rahane is very important to the set-up alongside Cheteshwar Pujara.

“Ajinkya, and I’ve said this many a time in the past as well, that along with Pujara, he is our most important Test batsman and he’s going to continue to be. We believe in his abilities; we have believed in his abilities for a long time. He’s an impact player. If you talk about the MCG Test, he stood up and scored a hundred there when the team wanted it most.”

Kohli points out fourth and fifth bowler conundrum

Indian pacers – Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma – bowled terrifically and then Ashwin once again bossed Chepauk on his way to a dominant nine-wicket game. However, Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Nadeem failed to make any sort of control in the game – the role that used to be played by Ravindra Jadeja.

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Virat Kohli pointed out that both Nadeem and Washington could’ve been more economical and cut out a few runs which would’ve piled misery on the English batsmen early on in the first innings.

“I don’t think we put enough pressure on them with the ball in the first half. Collectively as a bowling unit, fast bowlers and Ash, were good in the first innings but we also needed to contain a few more runs and create pressure,” Kohli said.

“Having said that, it was a slow wicket and not helping the bowlers which made it easy for the batsmen to rotate strike and get into the game. Just looked like not much was happening in it on the first two days.

“If Washi and Shahbaz had also bowled such economical spells, then you create more pressure, you cut out 80-90 runs from the opposition,” he added.

The second Test of the Anthony de Mello Trophy will be played at the same ground in Chenani from Saturday (February 13).