ICC unlikely to investigate Kohli over ball-tampering allegations

Skipper Virat Kohli led from the front to bring up the team’s second biggest win against England by runs, after they won by 279 runs at Leeds 30 years ago. That they delayed India’s march to victory for so long was impressive but ultimately futile, the character of this team evident in defeat.

Around the same time that the ICC heard the Faf du Plessis case, there emerged on social media footage of Virat Kohli and David Warner with suggestions that they might have introduced artificial substances to shine the ball.

He was fined his entire match fee but has incurred no ban and will be free to take part in the third and final Test. Ben Duckett and Zafar Ansari had poor games and looked out of their depth. If we played 150-odd overs, we could have saved the game. “There’s no disgrace in the way they’ve played”. We respect England. We want to continue with this nice momentum. That was one of the challenges, getting the right stuff.

England still had eight, despite the hammer-blow departure of Cook to the last ball of the fourth day, but no one could get set again to launch a rearguard as Ravichandran Ashwin finished with an eight-wicket match haul.

Paceman Mohammed Shami then removed Root for 25 when he extracted reverse swing from the new-ish ball and hit the batsman’s pad.

No one bowler stood out on a wearing pitch, and the Indian attack worked as a unit, using the conditions on offer. If a good guide to selection is to do what your opponents would least like, England should pick Buttler.

Du Plessis, who was charged with ball tampering during the second Test against Australia in Hobart after the ICC reviewed footage of the match that appeared to show du Plessis applying saliva to the ball.

“It’s not some people’s natural way of playing”, Cook said.

After the first Test in Rajkot didn’t go according to plan, the Indians went back to the tried-and-tested formula, as was expected. After a solid performance in Rajkot, he bowled poorly and with little control at Visakhapatnam. Ashwin also became leading wicket-taker of 2016 with 55 wickets surpassing Sri Lankan Rangana Herath (54 scalps).

“There wasn’t much intent from the [England] batters and on that kind of wicket, the question you asked about my batting, the plan was to have intent”, he said.

Kohli is one of the fittest athletes in the world.

The match will as always be on Sky Sports 2, which shows all of England’s test matches both at home and overseas. It will be nearly impossible for them to come back from 2-0 down.

Ashwin again almost added the scalp of Root in his next over – given out caught behind, but it was overturned after Root reviewed straight away and with clear daylight shown between bat and ball. India is now relying heavily on Pujara and Virat to get the bulk of the runs, but if they don’t fire then the team will be in trouble.