Virat Kohli does not need us, we need him: Bumrah
Bumrah, however, stressed that Kohli knows his cricket better than anyone else and that his experience of batting in these challenging conditions was essential from the team’s perspective.
India’s embarrassment of getting bowled out for 36 in the second innings of the first Test in Australia, a day-night game played with a pink ball in December last year, would not carry any effect on the third Test against England, said Virat Kohli.
The third Test of the ongoing four-match series between India and England would be a day-night fixture which will be played with the pink ball. The match will begin on Wednesday at the revamped Motera Stadium in Ahemdabad.
The Indian captain added that England, who too capitulated for 58 in their last pink ball Test against New Zealand in Auckland, also won’t be affected by a one-off dismal show.
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“Both are bizarre experiences for two quality sides. If you ask England the same question — do you think you can be bowled out for 50-odd, their answer would probably be no. You understand that on a particular day, things are supposed to happen in a certain way,” said Kohli while speaking to the media on Tuesday ahead of the first pink ball Test since the Adelaide thrashing.
“Whatever you try to do, it seems to be out of control and nothing seems to go right. That happened to us in Adelaide. Barring those 45 minutes of bad cricket, we dominated that Test match. We are very confident in how we play the pink ball, even in Australia where the pitches were assisting their seamers. We brushed it aside and won in Melbourne. That (36 all out) is not a hindrance or mental scar,” he said.
Kohli said that even if the wicket is spinner-friendly, the pink ball is likely to assist seam and pace bowlers.
“The pink ball tends to swing a lot more than the normal red ball that we play with. We experienced that when we played the one match in 2019 with Bangladesh. It is much more challenging to play with the pink ball regardless of what pitch you are playing on especially in the evening. As a batting team if you are starting your innings under lights then that one and a half hours is very challenging,” said Kohli.
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