Kohli unmoved by allegations

India won the 2 Cricket Test by 246 run win over England to take a lead by 1-0 in the 5 match series.

The umpire’s call in the Decision Review System for the touch and go LBW decisions has been a topic of discussion for some time but Indian captain Virat Kohli is happy with the technology in its current form.

Ahead of the third India-England Test in Mohali, the talk has moved on from the pitches to ball tampering with the hosts skipper Virat Kohli in the limelight for allegedly using artificial substance during the Rajkot Test. As far as I am concerned, umpires as well as the match referee never came to us talking about it.

The first match of five against England in Rajkot concluded on November 13, and any investigation or disciplinary process must start – under the world governing body’s established protocol – within five days.

Kohli, meanwhile, has brushed aside any ball tampering allegations in his pre-match press conference in Mohali.

‘I think it is just to take away the focus from this series to be honest.

“To me a newspaper article doesn’t matter over the decision of the ICC, we as cricketers respect that only”, he said.

India must make one enforced change to their winning team on Saturday, with Parthiv Patel replacing the injured Wriddhiman Saha as wicketkeeper. His way of bowling top English batsmen played in the minds of the team’s tailenders.

Patel, who returned to the Indian side after a gap of eight years, batted with goal while opening the innings in place of the injured Lokesh Rahul. The key question is who will be picked to provide support to star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

But when is the next match, and where can you watch Alastair Cook’s side try and get a win on the board?

On his thoughts about the slow Mohali surface, the Indian coach asserted that team is not anxious about the pitch here.

Despite the defeat, England have improved on their overall game, with batsmen scoring decent number of runs and bowlers picking up wickets.

The tourists, who flew to Chandigarh on Tuesday and will not practise on Wednesday, appear unlikely at this stage to risk Stuart Broad’s foot injury at the weekend – with Chris Woakes fit again after resting his knee niggle.

The visitors will need to produce a consistent performance over five days to square the series. The opening match between two sides had ended in a pale draw.

Trevor Bayliss has implied Virat Kohli’s critique of England’s failed bid to save the second Test is little more than mid-series mind games.