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Slamming critics of the two-day pink-ball Test once again, Indian captain Virat Kohli has stated that the his team’s sole focus is winning Test matches and not how many days the match lasts.
Virat Kohli’s comments come even as controversy over the pitch used for the pink-ball Test continues. Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq was the latest to join the list of critics.
Brushing aside all criticism, Virat Kohli said that he is not interested in giving an opinion on the two-day Test. Responding to a query from a journalist at a virtual press conference, the Indian captain countered:
“Do you play the game to win or for it to last five days and for entertainment? I have no answer to your question. As I said, we play the game to win. Not for me to score runs or (Chesteshwar) Pujara or Rohit (Sharma) or Ajinkya (Rahane) to score runs or, for that matter, Joe Root in the opposition, so that people enjoy the game. People should enjoy because India won the match. It doesn’t matter if the match ends in two three, four or five days.”
Pointing out that runs have been scored in previous Tests of the series, Virat Kohli asked people not to form an opinion based on just one Test. The 32-year-old added:
“Runs have been scored in previous games. Just because of one match, you cannot draw a conclusion. Every Test match doesn’t end in two days. If a team is playing very badly, only then the match ends in two or two and a half days. It’s important to look at things objectively. It is very easy to raise the same issue multiple times, but if you try to understand it once, then the controversy ends. We are not interested in giving an explanation. Our only focus is towards winning.”
Trust my defence in spinning conditions: Virat Kohli
The pink-ball Test saw England fold up for 112 and 81, while India were also rolled over for 145 in their first innings.
Asked about his method to deal with the turning ball, Virat Kohli responded that he trusts his defence under such circumstances. The Indian captain elaborated:
“Defence is very important. Skill is definitely needed on spinning tracks. It is not necessary that you have to sweep. You can work out your own way. My best solution is the defensive shot. I am confident that if I defend, neither will the ball go to short leg nor silly point.”
Virat Kohli further admitted that defensive play has taken a backseat in Test cricket owing to the influence of limited-overs cricket. He said:
“Because of influence of white-ball cricket, we are getting more results in Tests. However, comprising a bit on defence has been a byproduct of the same. Nowadays, teams wan to put up 350 quickly on the board. The traditional grind for four-five sessions is not so much in focus because people are not concentrating that much on defence. Since cricketers have to switch to different formats, the game has become fast-paced.”
The Virat Kohli-led India will need a win or a draw in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad to progress to the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
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