India captain Virat Kohli has demanded better catching from his fielders after they let England off the hook on the opening morning of the drawn series opener in Rajkot. Both, however, had to bowl their first-innings overs when the pitch was at its flattest.
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I can’t really say anything about the team selection right now. And since then, he was not available for any of the Test matches against New Zealand nor for the one-dayers. Also, I was coming off from the ODI series so the transition from ODIs to Tests did take some time. The second innings was quite hard work. By the time, India came to bat, England though of putting the host under the mat. Mishra revealed that early wickets were key to India’s success. “Good cricket wicket”, Cook said. It was a slow wicket.
“Turning wickets were probably his last challenge”. Statistics may not convey the tenaciousness of his stay at the crease, but his knock was vital in ensuring the visitors didn’t make further breakthroughs and get at India’s tail.
Fast bowler Jimmy Anderson would be itching to take the field against India after missing the first Test but Cook admitted he faced tough competition. But eventually you have to figure out over a span of two or three days how the individual is feeling, how he is behaving, what his energies are like.
Head coach Anil Kumble though was happy with Rahul’s return.
The 19-year-old Hameed smashed 82 off 177 balls to record the highest Test score by a teenager for England, beating Jack Crawford’s 74 in Cape Town in 1906. “I was thankful it went the way it did”.
“I couldn’t ask for much more from the 11 guys who played”.
India’s strength lies in their batting and spin department but the England team have showed that they not only have a formidable batting unit, but their spinners too have been more effective in generating more spin, bounce and trajectory in this Test.
Kohli and Jadeja remained unbeaten on 49 and 32.
“There was a bit of pressure, but we were confident of the outcome”. It was great batting from Kohli.
“It’s just a bowling niggle and nothing different from normal wear and tear and he would be fine to play”. And since it’s basically involves keeping them upbeat, there is no one more qualified than Kumble to that job. Now he has recovered and as a protocol, he played a Ranji Trophy game. “It was a big positive for me”, he added.
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“Yes, it was a good toss to win but you’ve still got to go and get them and three hundreds in the first innings was really pleasing, especially after what happened in Bangladesh”.
