Don’t write off champions: Nathan Lyon on Kohli’s recent batting slump
The Australian team must be hoping to take advantage of Virat Kohli’s prolonged batting slump when the two sides clash in the five-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar trophy
Keeping in mind India’s inconsistent performance while batting first, skipper Virat Kohli said that the team wants to bat well when setting a target for the opposition. Meanwhile, the skipper added that focus will also be on defending low totals.
“We want to bat well when we bat first, and in case we’re defending a low total, we should be able to do that as well,” Kohli said as quoted by ICC on Tuesday.
India are in New Zealand to play 5 T20Is, 3 ODIs and 2 Tests starting January 24 and Kohli thinks that clarity of mind is really important.
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“Clarity of mind is really crucial because we’re playing in conditions that are not ours, so we have to take even more intensity into that series to put the home team under pressure, set that sort of template from game one and build from there,” said the skipper.
“We can’t afford to ease into the series after two games, because then it keeps getting tougher and tougher, so we’ll look to make a mark in the first game that we play, play expressive cricket and be sure of what we want to do,” he added.
On Sunday, India registered a 7-wicket win in the third and final ODI against Australia at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, sealing series 2-1. Rohit was declared the Player of the Match, whereas Kohli was declared the Player of the Series. The Delhi lad scored 183 runs in the series.
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