After overseeing his side’s 246-run win over England in the second Test, India captain Virat Kohli spoke of his surprise in the touring side’s negative approach.
England, needing 405 for victory and the best part of two days to bat for the draw, never set their stall out to challenge the India total, instead proving content to try and block their way to a share of the spoils.
Kohli was critical of England’s tactics of adopting a defensive mindset after the touring side batten for 97.3 overs before being bowled out for 158, at a run-rate of 1.62.
“I think that the way we bowled yesterday was magnificent. Not giving away more than 1.4 (1.62) per over, we thought they would come out with more intent, to be very honest,” he said.
“To see the approach that they had, obviously, gave us assurance that once we get a couple of wickets, they will crumble pretty quickly because there wasn’t much intent from the batsmen.”
Although critical of the English approach, Kohli did echo his sentiments after the drawn first Test at Rajkot, stating that England are no pushovers even in sub-continental conditions.
Superb show by India. Kohli's batting was a masterclass...especially in the second innings. Indian seamers won my heart too.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) November 21, 2016
“As I said even after the last game, England is a side we do not take for granted. We understand that they have quality players, who have played a lot of cricket, ” said Kohli.
“Their captain has over 100 Tests and they have a couple of other players. So you expect them to show that resilience, character and fight. It is a learning process for us as well to be patient and to fight.”
Kohli was instrumental in his team’s 246-run win over England in the second Test at Vizag. The 28-year-old has been in splendid form this calendar year, having scored over 500 runs in each format of the game at the international level.
And in Vizag, Kohli scored 167 in the first innings and notched up 81 crucial runs in the second essay as other batsmen struggled on a pitch which had uneven bounce. He was duly named the Man of the Match for his efforts.
