So, it’s all about getting rid of all those feelings. “If you go to Australia or South Africa, they are not going to give you a turning track”, he said.
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His team take on the Black Caps on Thursday in the first of three Tests and India’s 500th in total, at Kanpur’s Green Park which is expected to prove favourable to spinners.
The first Test match of the New Zealand tour of India to be played at Kanpur from September 22 onwards will be Team India’s 500th Test match. “Dhoni has to be credited for that and all the young players, who grabbed their opportunities and showed to all of us they belong to global cricket, also deserve kudos”. “One area we have tapped into is belief”.
“If you are fearless, the results will fall your way because you are willing to take that extra risk in the course of the game”. “I think it’s certainly up to the individuals, some guys sweep more than the others”, he explained.
There was optimism mingled with conviction in V. V. S. Laxman’s tone and tenor as the batting great on Monday predicted the start of an era of prolonged dominance by the current Indian Test team, akin to the great West Indian and Australian sides of the past.
Kohli saw a gilt-edged opportunity to reclaim the tag in the big “career-defining” home season which will also include tests against England, Australia and Bangladesh. “We make our plans as the game goes on”, Kumble said. And India are playing good cricket at the moment, but we have got a group of cricketers who will be highly competitive. The important thing is to continue the same.
For a team that has won just two Tests on Indian soil – the last one way back in 1988 – Kumble’s words will encourage Kane Williamson’s tourists to turn up with confidence against the favourites.
There was little over a day’s play in the first Test and the second was over in four. Another reason is India are a very good side.
The tall offspinner Ravi Ashwin snared 20 of them and he shapes as the largest thorn in New Zealand’s side in this series.
However, with the amount of bilateral cricket played all around the world, Kumble believes there is not much of surprise element left in the game.
Fast-bowler Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the clash as he is recovering from mosquito-borne related illness chikungunya, which means that either Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Umesh Yadav will play in his place.
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“It’s one of those things that the more you play cricket here the better you become”. We have seen that before and it can happen again, the balls have been given dead balls which could have been fours and sixes.
“You can jump at shadows sometimes, but we need to adapt to whatever we’re confronted with. So it’s a combination of a lot of things, but I think the key is to maintain that balance between being positive and at the same time, being solid and playing through a hard situation for the team”, he added.
The Indian coach also asserted that India will not be able to derive “home” advantage as a number of Kiwi cricketers regularly play in the IPL. “This is the start of the season, and we don’t usually play here in September”.
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Kohli has been aggressive captain for India ever since he took over MS Dhoni as the Test skipper. We showed that in the T20 World Cup. The batsmen too would have had time to prepare for conditions like these, unlike against South Africa where nearly all of them seemed to be taken aback as much as the opposition themselves.
