India vs England: Virat Kohli explains why Kuldeep Yadav was not picked in playing 11.
India vs England: Team India after four years faced a loss in the test game in home conditions. Chasing the mammoth total of 420 runs England restricted India to mere 192 runs and secured a comprehensive 227 runs victory at Chennai.
For India, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli were the only players to score half-centuries in the fourth innings.
According to Virat Kohli, the Indian batsmen came under-pressure in the first innings after that massive total which eventually handed an advantage to the opposition team. England in the first inning scored 578 runs and India could only manage to get 337.
Stating that he has no regrets over the selection, Kohli said, “I think, Test probably shifted in their favour when we batted in the first innings.”
“We were looking to bat better but I don’t think there was enough application shown by us as a batting unit,” Kohli said at the post-match press conference.
“If anyone from our side gets a hundred then also we were far away from the total they gave us. It was the first inning which provided them with an edge to win the game and the wicket was flat and slow for the bowlers to do anything. Unlike the third and fourth innings in which both the teams played pretty similar. It was the first inning that decided the result.”
Why Kuldeep Yadav left behind?
Virat Kohli also explained the reason for leaving behind Kuldeep Yadav and getting Shabaz Nadeem into the side.
,”…when you are playing two off-spinners, Kuldeep more or less becomes a similar kind of spinner (bringing it into the right-handers). So, we needed variety. We were quite clear what combination we wanted to play, and there are no regrets whatsoever.”
Following his comment on Kuldeep Yadav, Virat Kohli did pass a hint that there might be some changes in the combination in the next game.
“Moving forward, we will make sure to make some necessary changes in all the areas. Making our bowling look multi-dimensional.”
India and England will play the second test at Chennai from 13th February. As per the reports, the crowd will also be available there to watch the test match.
Over 15,000 fans will be allowed inside the stadium for which the guidelines have been strictly released by the governing authorities.
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