JOIN USVirat Kohli called on the team to rise above ego and instead learn from the defeat in the first Test.
“Obviously you will want to forget a bad result but it's important that you take it to heart,” he said when asked about how he looked at the unexpected setback in Pune. “It's important that you learn from it. If you ignore it then you can't improve. It's important to accept that we lost the Test match because of lack of intent and because the other team played better cricket than us.
“If your ego is hurt and you ignore it then that thing piles on. We know we didn't play well and Australia did (but) that doesn't mean that it will happen in every Test match. If you play well every day, every session, then you will win the Test match. We didn't do that. You will not get to see a performance like that again, that I can assure you,” he vowed here on Friday.
Kohli also felt that such losses were necessary to improve certain aspects of the game. “We have to test a lot of things,” he began.
“We look at it as a chance to improve some of the things that we need to win a Test match. We already know but sometimes you can't do it all. Very rarely does it happen that the full team doesn't contribute, it was one such Test for us. We got to learn a lot from the Test and our intention remains the same that we try and win. I think that's one thing that we have done consistently, it becomes very important to practice consistently to perform consistently. When we win, we have to practice with intensity and even when we lose we have to practice with the same intensity. Basically, seeing the result you can't change the way you practice,” he explained.
While holding his cards close to his chest with regards to final 11 for the second Test, Kohli told the media to expect some surprises.
“These are perceptions. We have our ideas and we will go in with the best combination possible,” said Kohli when asked if Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav could get a chance as their routines in the “nets” suggested. “Jayant (Yadav) has been outstanding. You can't put too much pressure on a guy who's played just one series.
“We have good games and bad games. Pune wasn't his best game. As far as the combinations are concerned, we are studying a lot of options. Eventually we'll come to a conclusion this evening on what is the XI we want to go with. But yes, all kinds of possibilities are there tomorrow. There might be a few surprises,” he remarked.