India vs Australia: “I don’t think there is any other reason to be alarmed” – Virat Kohli blames ‘lack of execution’ as the only reason for Day 3 collapse
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Virat Kohli
India endured a horror show against Australia on Day 3 of the first Test at the Adelaide Oval but their skipper Virat Kohli dismissed it as a one-off incident where execution went wrong. Beginning Day 3 with a promising 62-run lead, India were shell-shocked by a hostile spell from Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. Wickets tumbled almost at the Australian’s will as the Indians folded for 36 – their lowest score in Test history.
The dismal batting effort from the Indians has led to plenty of strong reactions from fans, cricketers and pundits alike. But Virat Kohli was calculated and composed as he tackled questions at a virtual press-conference labelling the defeat as one that occurred solely due to lack of execution and nothing else.
‘You can always make a mountain out of a molehill’ – Kohli
Speaking at the post-match press conference virtually, Virat Kohli addressed as to the reason for India’s dramatic batting collapse, “I don’t think lack of regular Test cricket is the reason for what happened today. We’ve played enough cricket to understand what needs to be done at different stages of a Test match. It’s just lack of execution that is at fault. The lead of 62 should definitely have merited a stronger performance. There definitely is no mental fatigue,” he sad.
Addressing India’s intent and the Aussie bowling performance, Kohli decided to not give the latter too much credit saying, “The Aussie bowlers bowled similar lengths in the first innings as well so their lengths were not the reason for our lack of intent. We were just better in handling it in the first innings. A bit of a lead can always be tricky because batting with it you could go to a headspace where you could feel that we don’t want to lose wickets and hence play patiently. The way we batted made them look like they were more potent than they actually were to be honest because they bowled similarly in the first innings and we batted way better.”
Kohli also hinted that such instances are a part and parcel of cricket. “Playing at the highest level, there will definitely be collapses like this. We have to understand our mistakes and work on them. This is not club cricket. There is a lot of pressure involved in different stages. And we take pride in what we do for the team. We shouldn’t be vulnerable for a collapse on a regular basis. I don’t think it’s anything alarming. You can always make a mountain out of a molehill. We need to know what we have to do as a team in Melbourne and how we need to relay our plans rather than dwell and linger on the past. We learn from our mistakes and we move forward,” he said.
Virat Kohli will be unavailable for India’s last three Test as he is set to leave for India on ‘paternity leave’. Ajinkya Rahane will captain the Indian side in his absence.
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Nevin Clinton
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