India vs England | You have to be flexible adjusting and not have notions of playing in a certain way, says Virat Kohli

Team India had a strong hold on the game in the previous match due to way Indian batsmen tackled the swing and seam challenge posed by the English bowlers. They changed their batting plans and adapted to all the conditions around them. Virat Kohli stood well outside the crease and left everything outside off, Ajinkya Rahane cut out the drive while Shikhar Dhawan played quite late and thus reduced his bat speed. All these factors helped team India to not lose early wickets, unlike previous games and mount a good score. 

The fourth Test between India and England is scheduled to be played in Southampton, where the pitch conditions are expected to be different and have more bounce. Team India will have to come up with yet another plans and strategies in order to give a tough competition to the English attack. Kohli believes that Indian players shouldn't focus on sticking to the plans and skill sets but should rather try to adapt to whatever conditions that are prevalent in that particular moment. 

“We have played and we don't want to be rigid. You go into bat understanding you want to do a certain set of things but if the wicket is behaving totally different, you have to be flexible adjusting there and not having preset notions about going out there and wanting to play a certain way,” Kohli said in the pre-match presser. 

The Indian skipper showcased a mature manner of playing as he tried to play from various positions in and around the crease in order to put the pacers off and compel them to change their strategies again and again. On several occasions, he stood deep and shifted his guard from leg to middle to trick the bowlers. 

“I'm pretty flexible like that even with the way I've played till now. I've changed where I stand. It's not one position, it can vary from off stump to leg stump. If someone is trying to bowl too many in-swingers, you obviously change the position where you stand. You don't want to be rigid. And it's all about being flexible, accepting that once something changes, you have to change with it. If you are rigid, you are going to fall behind. That was so beautiful in the last game, the batsmen adapted so quickly according to what the conditions were like. When they were more batting friendly, like me and Jinks were playing, we could play our shots. When it was seaming around in the second innings, or the first innings to begin with, batsmen respected that as well.

"I thought we had a good balance between attack and defence in the last game. We would want to be flexible according to how the pitch plays or how much the ball swings or seams. Apart from the pitch, conditions are going to be a massive factor as well because it's cold for the last couple of days and it's going to remain like that from what I understand. We will have to assess the situation every hour I guess because it can change very rapidly,” he quoted. 

Not only did he speak about the batting excellence, but he also mentioned largely of the Indian bowlers who adapted well to the conditions and worked together to bring the team success. 

“You feel very when you see bowlers doing very well. We've been talking about it for a while now that even if you score 800 or 1000 runs in Test matches, if you don't take wickets, victory won't come. If you take 20 wickets, you will get a win or at least a draw. Instead of focussing on the batsmen, we've been focussing on the bowlers on how to take 20 wickets. That's why we'veplaying with five bowlers for a long time now. If we don't play five bowlers, our chances of taking 20 wickets narrow. The good thing is the seamers in our side have gained good experience over the last 3-4 years.

"They've been bowling well as an unit which is the most exciting thing for me as a captain and for the whole team. Be it a spell or bowling in a partnership, we feel happy when we are at the ground, at slips or even outside. It gives us happiness when we see our bowlers rushing the opposite batsmen. The game remains in balance and doesn't shift completely to one side. Eventually, whichever side plays well, it will win the match. We don't think we are at a disadvantage when it comes to pace bowling. We think we are equal to any team in the world and if we play well, we can win anywhere," the Indian captain summed up,” Kohli concluded.