Indian captain Virat Kohli batted 98 balls under immense pressure to help India draw the first Test of the five-match series against England at Rajkot.
Kohli’s batting usually tends to be of the attacking variety, but on Sunday, he showed the other side of his game as he played India out of trouble on what was a nervous final session for the Indian team.
“(It was a) good opportunity to find out new things about your game. That is what I spoke to Jadeja (about) as well. It’s a situation, it can’t get better than that to find another aspect of your game. Especially in Test cricket, we have been a positive side and played for a result,” said Kohli
“To play against the momentum, it requires skill. It is very important to convince yourself that you can get through those tough periods. You trust your defence and trust that you can negotiate anything that is thrown at you.”
The Indian skipper felt that the five catches that India put down in England’s first innings cost the hosts in a big way. England went on to score 537 in that innings and India were always playing catch up after that.
“We could have been better on day one and day two. We dropped five catches and the opposition can take the game away from you. England are a side that we are not taking for granted,” he added.
Kohli also refused to criticise the Indian spinners, who were out-bowled by their English counterparts. India’s premier spin bowler Ravinchardan Ashwin, who is the number one bowler on the ICC Test Rankings, had a game to forget with the ball in hand – picking up just four wickets and conceding over 200 runs.
According to Kohli, the Indian spinners were unfortunate to bowl during periods when the pitch was very batsmen-friendly.
“They (spinners) bowled on the first two days, where the wicket was really good to bat on. Not taking anything away from the England bowlers, but with 540 on the board, it’s a different ball game. We need to correct the areas before going to Vizag,” said Kohli.
With the series level at 0-0, the second Test will be held at Visakhapatnam, starting Thursday.