Luck hasn’t been on our side: Kohli
Middle-order bat says neither technique nor temperament is suspect
Virat Kohli’s face bore all the signs of the shellacking India received from Australia on the first day of the third Test here on Friday.
He tried to smile in vain when the obvious question came his way -- about the capitulation of the Indian batsmen. Kohli couldn’t think of any reason other than ill luck. “Luck is a very important thing in cricket, and unfortunately it hasn't been going our way in important phases, just before breaks, after breaks," Kohli told reporters.
"We've lost important wickets at important times of the match,” he said in reference to his and VVS Laxman’s dismissal just before the tea break here on day one.
The Delhi lad, who made a patient 44, said the collapse of the Indians had nothing to do with lack of technique or temperament. “I don't think anyone has a lack of temperament or technique. It's just that things haven't been going our way recently. I don't think it's a case that we are not mentally competing with them. It's just that we haven't done well in those important phases and Australia has,” he said.
Asked about the possible course of this Test, the optimist in Kohli came out. "It's just one day. We still have four days left in this Test match. I don't rate it as the worst day of Test match cricket I've experienced. We had longer days on field. They might lose wickets in a cluster, so you never know because cricket is a funny game,” he said.
But he didn’t forget to give credit to the Australian bowlers and centurion David Warner. “They bowled in the right areas and forced us into our shots. Warner came out and played his natural game and it paid off.”
Perhaps inspired by Warner, Kohli offered a word of advice for his team-mates. "You just can't go into a shell. Australia came out and played their shots. I'm not saying we should play more shots. I'm saying we have to put away the loose deliveries. We've tried to do it, but we haven't been able to execute it properly.”
On any other day, his 44 would have rated as a gutsy effort. It lost the value against the backdrop of Australia’s immense effort, but Kohli said he was feeling more confident about himself.
“I don’t know why people were after me after the first Test in Melbourne. 2000 runs in ODI cricket is a not a fluke, that’s also international cricket. I have been playing on some tough surfaces, and it’s a learning curve for me. This is not the last series to be played ever, so I need to keep things going,” he said.
