Virat Kohli : Need to have a good balance of spinners and fast bowlers to get a result
Ahead of the second Test against West Indies, Indian skipper Virat Kohli hinted at continuing with the same bowling combination that played in the opening game. India played with two spinners and three pacers at Antigua and Kohli added that a balance between the two is necessary to achieve a result.
India had a perfect performance at Antigua in the first Test with the batsmen posting a huge score and the bowlers bowling out the Windies batsmen within four days. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav took four-wicket hauls in the first innings, while Ravichandran Ashwin
Honestly, there's not much room to change when you've won the first game, knowing that the fast bowlers have done the job," he said. "There's good bounce in this wicket. The last time we played a Test here, in 2011, [Amit Mishra] and Harbhajan both got good turn and bounce. So the spinner can't be left out of the game."
"Honestly, there's not much room to change when you've won the first game, knowing that the fast bowlers have done the job," he said. "There's good bounce in this wicket. The last time we played a Test here, in 2011, [Amit Mishra] and Harbhajan both got good turn and bounce. So the spinner can't be left out of the game,” the Indian skipper said in his pre-match press conference.
Also, read: Virat Kohli | The 5-year long journey from Jamaica to Antigua
"There is a second innings as well, we need to understand that. It's not overcast conditions and a green pitch where you will compromise on one spinner. You know that when the wicket dries up it will start turning and there is good bounce so the spinners will come into play. Like they did in the last game also, spinners can play a massive role. I think the roles will switch pretty drastically with each innings, that's what I feel, for all bowlers, and for that we have to have all bases covered for us to have enough options to take 10 wickets in the second innings also.
"We need to have a good balance of spinners and fast bowlers for us to get a result. And that's what we had in the first game. As I said, when you win there's not that much room for change unless the conditions are drastically different, which they are not.
We're not focusing on the opposition too much. We are happy that the wicket is going to have some bounce and carry. There was decent enough bounce in Antigua for us to exploit whatever help was there. Jamaica is going to be even better, it's a result-oriented ground, we all know that. We're quite excited about it."
When asked about the change in the nature of the pitch, Kohli expressed his excitement in playing at a “result-oriented ground”.
"We're not focusing on the opposition too much," he said. "We are happy that the wicket is going to have some bounce and carry. There was decent enough bounce in Antigua for us to exploit whatever help was there. Jamaica is going to be even better, it's a result-oriented ground, we all know that. We're quite excited about it.
"We've got good pace; the bowlers are bowling good areas. We'd just like to focus on that and believe that our batsmen are good enough to tackle any pace and bounce that West Indies' bowlers have. The plan is to go out there and play with the determination and focus that we showed in the first game," explained the 27-year-old.
However, India will miss the services of opener Murali Vijay in the second Test at Jamaica. The Tamil Nadu cricketer, who suffered a thumb injury, will be replaced by KL Rahul. The second Test will start at Jamaica on Saturday.
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