Indian captain Virat Kohli was in a no-nonsense mood while trying to assess his team’s 333-run humbling within three days against Australia in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The 28-year-old opined that India’s batting in Pune was the “worst in the last two years”.
India’s cumulative score of 212 (105 in the first innings and 107 in the second) was the worst they have registered in their history. Kohli admitted that his side was outperformed on all three days. “We got outplayed in this game,” he said in the post-match press conference. “We have got to take it on the chin, accept that they outplayed us. It was our worst batting display in the last two years. We were not good enough on any of the three days. It was a case of us not applying ourselves too well. We need to see what we did wrong.”
India wilted against left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe, who finished with career-best match figures of 12/70. Despite good displays from Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Kohli conceded that it was the visitors who cashed in on the vicious spin surface at the MCA stadium. “They exploited it better than us,” he said, of the pitch. “They put us under pressure throughout and deserved to win this game. Credit to them that they played better than us.”
The Delhi dasher remained optimistic that his side would rediscover their form, which has seen them win eight of the nine home Tests coming into the game. “We’ve had two really bad sessions and to pull it back against a quality side is very difficult,” he said. “But there are no excuses. Sometimes, you have to take your hat off and tell the opposition well done.”
“I am sure we are going to bounce back strongly. It has been a good run for us, [the 19-match unbeaten streak before this Test]. Good to see the crowd still supporting us,” Kohli said.
Kohli lamented his side’s catching, which was poor in the second innings, allowing Australia to seize control in the game through skipper Steve Smith’s battling ton, “If you drop five catches off one batsman [Steve Smith], you certainly don’t deserve to win and also if you lose seven wickets for 11 runs. Our mindset does not change with the results,” Kohli added.
The World No.2 Test player admitted that he erred in his decision-making in the second innings against spinner Steve O’Keefe, “I left the ball too early. I should have waited for a little more. It was my fault,” he said.
Kohli also picked out India’s comeback-from-behind series win (2-1) in 2015 at Sri Lanka as an example of his side’s powers of resilience, “The last time we had a performance like this we had an outstanding run from Galle. I would say that we needed something like this for a reality check and understand what we need to work on and not take anything for granted especially at the international level,” he added.