The Indian cricket team gave a terrific performance in the second Test match and register a terrific win to take a lead of 1-0 in the ongoing 5-match Test series. Ahead of the third Test match, Virat Kohli asserted that team India will not back down in an on-field altercation and such moments fire up the team to well on-field.
Team India defeated England by a margin of 151 runs after scripting a remarkable comeback with Mohammed Sami and Jasprit Bumrah leading the show with the bat on Day 5.
England cricket team are without their top all-rounder Ben Stokes, pacers Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes and now Mark Wood as well. During the virtual press conference, ahead of the third Test match, Virat was asked about whether injuries in the England camp gave India a better chance of thriving. Responding to this, Virat said that his side has played a brilliant brand of cricket lately. Hence, he believes overshadowing their success by other factors won’t be fair. He said:
“Does that depend on the strength of the opposition? Even when the key players are playing, we think we can beat anyone. We don’t wait for the opposition to be weak,”
He added:
“We do not wait for the opposition to be weak. So, I do not think that is the right question to ask a team that has been playing such good cricket over the last so many years. We do not depend on the opposition to be weak, that is not how we approach any series.”
He was also asked to explain what it is like to bat in English conditions, where the ball seams and swings consistently, Virat Kohli gave an honest opinion talking on this matter. He said:
“You can never say in England that now you are set (on pitch). You have to put your ego in your pocket. The conditions are not the same as it is in other places where you reach 30-40 and know that you can pick balls for your shots,”
He said:
“You have to bat the same way you bat for your first 30 runs and then repeat the same template till it is possible. This discipline and patience is required in England.”
“If you are not patient in England you can get out at anytime, no matter how experienced you are or how many runs you have under your belt. You need good decision making because conditions in England are toughest in the world, in my opinion,”
The Indian cricket team is currently leading the ongoing 5-match Test series with 1-0 after the first Test match ended in a draw and India registered an incredible comeback to win the second game at the iconic Lord’s Stadium. Both the teams will now lock horns in the Third Test match that will begin today at Headingley, Leeds.
While England has given some memorable performances at the Headingley, on the other hand, none of the members of the Indian players (current) have played at the venue. Talking about the same, Virat Kohli said:
“Look I am not an individual who likes to attach much importance to things that are on the outside for us. It’s just a Test match that needs to be played against England, be at any stadium, anywhere in the world.”
He added:
“So we just need to do what we need to do as a team. What has happened here, we are not focussed on that at all. All our energies are focussed on what we want to do as a team in the next five days,”
During the ongoing 2nd Test match at the Lord’s, a lot of drama took place between the players. First things got heated up between Jasprit Bumrah and James Anderson and later between Virat and James Anderson. Talking about the same, Virat had said that the on-field provocation was good for the intensity but he didn’t share details when asked about what had actually provoked them.
“I can’t give you details of the words that was spoken. It was for camera and stump mike to pick that up for both teams. And then we analysed. What’s done in the moment, give you extra motivation obviously to get together as a team more strongly.”
He added:
“The details of which are not necessary to be discussed after (it happened) because when you play competitive sport these things happen but it’s what you do after that situation or how you get up from that situation is what matters. For us this is fresh beginning, it’s another opportunity to show what we can do as a team.”
