Kohli bats India to draw in the tough first Test vs. England

While rotation of the fast bowlers is expected this tour, the England management have reason to remain unchanged this week following an impressive performance in the drawn first Test in Rajkot.

Talking after the game, the 33-year-old noted that returning to the longest format after a long time proved to be a contributing factor behind his below-par show. We have done well in all three departments over the past three and half months that I have been with the team.

“We played a one-dayer here, the spinners got a few wickets here but at the same time the quick bowlers had a bit of assistance early on”. And then since then, he was not available for any of the Test matches against New Zealand nor for the one-dayers. There were three centurions from the England side and their team put up an imposing total of 537 to challenge India.

Haseeb Hameed and Alastair Cook added 180 runs in the second inning, which is now the highest opening stand by a visiting team in India in the second innings. “Good cricket wicket”, Cook said. It was a slow wicket.

“It was odd, because of a lot of balls were turning quite big but weren t taking that many wickets”. We have to make sure we put the hard work in for the next Test. But to deal with the England seamers the batsman has to be tight and focussed which Rahul is. “We tried our best but credit to them for the way they batted”, he explained.

India coach Anil Kumble admitted things could have been different in Rajkot had they called for DRS on some occasions. A 19-year-old outscored me. I don’t think you can blame anyone for that. “I was thankful it went the way it did”. Do they take the psychological edge heading into the second Test match in Visakhapatnam?

Kohli was accompanied by local star Ravindra Jadeja (32 not out) when the match ended inconclusively. Our batting, our bowling and catching is something that this team really prides itself on.

“I’ve seen my daughter for 18 hours”. Now he has recovered and as a protocol, he played a Ranji Trophy game. “Both showed great temperament and showed we wouldn’t succumb under pressure”, Mishra revealed. The classy batsman scored 76 in the first innings and followed it up with an eye-catching 106 in 131 balls against Rajasthan, earning a recall to the India squad.

When asked about the role of the toss, Kohli, who lost his first toss in Rajkot in Tests after seven wins, said winning the toss gives you a slight advantage but in Test cricket, it doesn’t matter much.

The second Test will get underway on Thursday.