Kohli says India will persist with 1st Test ‘template’

TIL Desk Sports/ This team will be ‘our template’ going ahead, Indian captain Virat Kohli said after the rain-marred opener against England ended in a draw on Sunday, meaning they will stick to the 4-1 pace-spin combination in the remainder of five-Test series.

It will likely be a toss-up between Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin for the lone spinner’s slot in the upcoming four matches, with the former preferred for the first Test in which India were deprived of a victory owing to persistent rain that washed out the entire fifth day’s play in Nottingham.

“We were expecting rain on days three and four but it chose to come on day five. It would have been enjoyable to play and watch, but it’s a shame,” Kohli said after the match. “This is exactly what we wanted to do; start strong. On day five we knew we had our chances. We certainly felt like we were on top of the game.”

India needed to score 157 runs on the final day but the rain did not allow a single ball to be bowled.”Getting that lead was crucial, but it’s a shame we couldn’t finish day five. Getting to fifty overnight was important. We just didn’t want to play for survival. Our intent kept us ahead. It’s hard work of three odd weeks for our bowlers with the bat.””We were talking of a lead of 40-odd but we ended up with 95 and those runs were gold dust,” he added.