India vs West Indies 2016: Virat Kohli still undecided about India's opening combination for third Test

Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli gave little away when responding to questions about the team combination for the third Test against West Indies which begins on Tuesday at the Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia, especially regarding the Indian side’s opening combination.

While Murali Vijay was forced to sit out the Jamaica Test with an injury, Rahul, who came in as his replacement smashed a brilliant century to stake his claim for a permanent spot in the playing eleven. Kohli welcomed the good form that the three Indian openers – Vijay, Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan – are in as a good headache to have but added that the team management is yet to decide as to which two among the three will make it to the final eleven on Tuesday.

“Cricket is a very uncertain game and injuries are not in anyone’s hands. I remember that even in the IPL, Mandeep Singh (RCB batsman) was fit and ready to play and while I was at the toss, he split his webbing and KL (Rahul) got the chance and he has not looked back since,” Kohli told the media at the pre-match press conference on Monday.

“We need to look at the balance of the side. The good thing is that all the three openers are playing well and the bad thing is that you have to choose two out of the three. So that is a call we need to take as management tonight,” he added. “Injuries can really upset people and bring them down. But Vijay has been practising well. He’s back in the nets and he’s back to fielding as well. So we have to take a call on that but we still have to discuss that."

The Indian skipper congratulated the opposition’s batsmen for saving the second Test match with their gutsy display on Day 5 but still feels the result could have been in India’s favour had rain not curtailed play on the penultimate day of the match.

“We know we had the upper hand throughout. If we had full play on Day 4, we probably would have wrapped up things the way we were going with the momentum very much with us,” he said. “Momentum is very important in any format, but especially more so in Test cricket. One session can change the whole game as you saw just recently with the Test match in England.

“It was a very good batting effort by the West Indies. They applied themselves really well. Our blowers tried their best but there was little assistance from the surface. We have taken positives and learnings from Day 5 and will apply that in the coming Tests.”

Talking about the surface for the third Test, Kohli sounded pleased by whatever he has seen on the pitch and believes that it is a result-oriented pitch which both sides will enjoy playing on.

“I had a look at the pitch yesterday and it looks very similar to the one in Antigua (venue of the 1st Test) with even grass covering and the surface should be hard enough. I don’t think they (the groundsmen) had enough time to water and roll it with all the rains. We hope the pitch will have good bounce and carry as it will mean that the bowlers will have a chance to pick up wickets on all five days. On the whole, it looks like a pitch where a result is very much possible," Kohli said.