The Indian skipper Virat Kohli admitted that Test cricket is his favorite format as India lost the first Test match by 31 runs. The visitors were close yet so far from winning their maiden Test match at Edgbaston.
Kohli was the lone warrior for the Indian team and he fought like one as he scored 200 runs in the whole match. Consequently, Indian captain was at the top of his game.
Virat Kohli sheds light on the match.
In fact, the match had a lot of twists and turns as the advantage pendulum kept swinging from one side to the other. Thus, it was a perfect exhibition of the longest and purest form of the game.
Virat Kohli said in the post-match presentation, “Test cricket is my favorite format, there is nothing better than testing yourselves over five days against top quality oppositions and people watching it too should love watching it. I am sure every player playing Test cricket would vouch for it as well”.
Kohli went on to add that he is glad to be part of such an exciting contest. The Indian skipper gave credit to the England team as they turned out to be the better side.
“First of all, it was a great game of cricket for all those watching at home and here in the stadium. Glad to be a part of such an exciting Test match; there were a couple of moments when we came back. A team like England doesn’t let you do it every day, they were relentless and they made us work very hard for our runs. It sets up the series nicely and gives us what we need to do going forward”.
Kohli wants a better application from his batsmen.
India’s batting also let them down. Only Virat Kohli was able to score runs as other batsmen could not chip in their contribution. Thus, the Indian captain rued the shot selection of the batsmen.
“Our shot selection could have been better. We definitely need to apply ourselves better with the bat, but England came back superbly and we need to take the positives and move forward. We can be proud as a team to start against England in England the way we have. There is a lot to learn from the lower order in the first innings, Ishant and Umesh got stuck in the middle”.
Kohli went on to add that he would have rated his 149 innings in the first dig as his best knock had they went on to win. Meanwhile, Kohli believes said that one more partnership could have got them home.
“From the team’s point of view, my innings in the first innings is right up there, perhaps second after the knock in Adelaide; it is something I will fondly remember. Had we won it would have been the best. It always feels good when you can pull your side close to the first innings totals the oppositions have. One more partnership and we could have pulled this home. We need to think how to regroup and get back for the next match”.
It was a thrilling contest as both England and India were able to land the counter punches. In fact, it was a perfect roller coaster match as both the teams were able to come up with great performances.
