Virat Kohli ne match ke baad kya kaha I virat kohli says this team will be better for further test series against India I Virat Kohli statement after 1st test I India vs England I Virat Kohli on team combination

Nottingham: India skipper Virat Kohli said the team would be an “ideal team” for us going forward, after the rain-hit first Test against England ended in a draw on Sunday. This means that India can go into the remaining matches of the five-match Test series with a combination of four fast bowlers and one spinner.

In such a situation, in the remaining four matches, only one of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin will get a chance to play. Jadeja was preferred over Ashwin in the first Test. Not a single ball could be bowled due to rain on the fifth and final day, taking away India’s chance of victory. Kohli said after the match, ‘We were expecting rain on the third and fourth day, but it came on the fifth day. It would have been fun to play and watch the match but it is embarrassing.

We didn’t want to play to survive: Kohli

“That’s what we wanted to do, a strong start,” he said. On the fifth day we knew we had a chance. We definitely felt that we were on top of our game. India needed 157 more runs to win on the final day with nine wickets remaining, but due to incessant rain, not a single ball could be bowled.

“It was important to get the lead, but it is a shame that we could not finish the fifth day,” Kohli said. It was important to score 50 last night. We didn’t want to play to survive. Our passion kept us ahead. It is the result of our bowlers’ hard work with the bat for three weeks. We were talking about a lead of around 40 runs but managed to get a lead of 95 runs and these runs were like gold.

The Indian captain said, ‘In all likelihood it will be ideal for us in this series, but adjusting is our strong side. One needs to look at the conditions and the pace of the wicket. The matches between India and England are always exciting and looking forward to the next Test. Under the points system of the new World Test Championship round, both the teams got four points each.

We were confident of victory: Root

Out of a possible 450 overs, only a little over 250 overs could be bowled in the first Test due to bad weather. England had given a target of 209 runs to India, in response to which the visiting team scored 52 runs for one wicket till the end of the fourth day’s play.

India had the upper hand but England captain Joe Root said the rain had stalled otherwise the final day’s play would have been very exciting. Root said, ‘Great Test match to play and watch. Great start to the series and hope to see the same in the next matches. We definitely believed we could win. We knew that if we took catches and showed quickness to field, then we would have a chance.

He said, ‘It is a shame that it ended this way. There are definitely some departments where we want to do better. We want to do better at the top of the order and take catches. It was a relief to finally score a century, seeing how the match played out throughout the day. I think India’s fast bowling attack is very good and credit goes to him for the way he bowled.