England handed a massive total of 420 runs for the Indians to chase in the first Test at Chennai. However, the Indians folded for just 192 runs with only Virat Kohli (72) and Shubman Gill (50) managing to resist the England attack on a deteriorating Day 5 pitch. On day five of the first Test, James Anderson and Jack Leach stole the show for England as the duo took seven wickets among themselves to demolish out hosts for 192. Here we go Virat Kohli press conference
IND vs ENG: Virat Kohli’s press conference
“Look if you’re trying to dig something out, you’re not going to get anything because there’s nothing,” a frustating Kohli said in response to a question about Rahane’s performance during the post-match press conference. “I’ve said this many times in the past as well – along with Pujara, he [Rahane] is our most important Test batsman and he is going to continue to be. We believe in his abilities, we have believed in his abilities for a long time now and he’s an impact player.
“If you’re talking about the MCG Test, he stood up and scored a hundred when the team wanted it the most. So you can look at several innings and what happens from there on, but the reality of the situation is they’ve won the series in Australia. Here there’s just one Test, two innings and both… today, yeah you can put that innings aside.
IND vs ENG: Virat Kohli was unhappy with India’s approach
The body language and intensity were not up to the mark said a disappointed India skipper Virat Kohli, counting the many errors his team committed in the massive 227-run loss to a “more professional and consistent” England in the opening Test here. India bowled 20 No balls in the first innings which has shown one of the errors.
“ In the first innings, he wanted to score a boundary. It was a brilliant catch by Joe [Root] that got rid of him. So if that goes for a boundary, he gets runs in the first innings and we’re not having this conversation. There’s absolutely no issues, everyone’s playing really well and we just need to be focused a lot more, understand that Test victories are earned in any conditions – whether they’re your own or you’re playing away. Nothing is a given in Test cricket and we need to be aware of that reality and work together as a team to keep putting a lot of pressure on the opposition. That’s our focus.” Kohli Explained.
Kohli added that India’s response to that 578, is where the match was lost, particularly due to a lack of any prolonged partnerships. He played down the suggestion that England were better prepared for this Test, given the recent series win in Sri Lanka in comparable conditions, and the fact that India last played Tests at home in November 2019. England have now taken a crucial 1-0 lead in the four-match Test series. It would now be interesting to see what changes Virat Kohli would make for the second Test which takes place in a couple of days from now i.e. 13th February 2021.
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