Virat Kohli hints at four-bowler strategy for 1st Test vs West Indies

Virat Kohli celebrates a wicket with Jasprit Bumrah

On the eve of the first Test vs West Indies, Virat Kohli hinted at a four-bowler approach. The Indian captain is upbeat after after leading India to series win in the ODI and T20I series in the Caribbean Islands.

An exciting pitch was laid out for the previous Test in the Caribbean between England and West Indies. "We could not look at the wicket as it was still covered. After looking at the pitch, it is more or less a choice between three quicks and a spinner or two quicks and two spinners," Kohli said. "The last time England played here, pitch had quite a variable bounce so all those factors come into play. But we are very flexible and open at the moment."

Virat Kohli always believes that it takes 20 wickets to win a Test match and has been a huge advocator of the five-bowler approach so far. India will be playing their first Test in more than seven months. India's last series was a memorable one as they beat Australia for their maiden Test series win Down Under.

Virat Kohli said that India's Test series triumph in Australia remains fresh in the minds of the players and believes it is one of the biggest triumphs in India's Test history.

"The loss at Perth. It gave us a pretty fair idea of what we needed to do. In terms of going into the next Test in Melbourne and how we needed to approach the game. And that is why we ended up winning the series," Kohli said. "In Test cricket, it is all about correcting your mistakes very fast and learning quickly from your loses. And that is what the Test Championship will bring in as well. The team that learns quickly from its mistakes will be in the hunt to reach the top of the Championship.
"We have learnt quite a bit (in Test cricket). Capitalising when the situation is with us and need to control damage when things are stacked up against us. That is the most important part of Test cricket. You can't lose six wickets in a session and then expect to comeback," said the skipper of the number one Test team.

A total of 120 points will be up for grabs in the two-match series beginning here on Thursday, marking the start of India's World Test Championship campaign.

"It (WTC) put things into perspective. When you have points to gain and you are working towards something then every match becomes that much more important. "It is going to bring in more competition, more requirement of precise cricket and a lot of discipline. I think the format is going to take the standard of Test cricket higher," Kohli added.

With inputs from PTI

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