The loss notwithstanding, Kohli's Indians are capable of enjoying an English summer of splendour, but walking out of the dressing room, carrying all that talent and leaving grit behind will not result in tall scores. Fresh guard, please!
Virat Kohli
Had Virat Kohli's Indian cricket team won the opening Test of the Pataudi Trophy series, the nation would have been celebrating a near-historic victory. Save one occasion — in 1986 — India have never won the first Test of a series in England.
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On Saturday, India came very close to drawing first blood in the five-match series, but poor batting for the second time in the match crushed their ambitions. What a shame that the batting luminaries couldn't emulate the application, grit and determination of their skipper Kohli. The world's most accomplished batsman played out of his skin in both innings and this could well give the impression that the task for the rest of the batsmen was Herculean. But, even considering the confronting English conditions and a probing opposition bowling attack, the likes of Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane have no option but to feel that they let the side down in the overall context. It must be stressed that the Edgbaston pitch fell into the "good" category.
The slip catching left a lot to be desired. This was witnessed in both teams. However, Dawid Malan finds himself out of the squad for the second Test and dropping Kohli twice must have had a big role to play in his axing. Talking about seriousness, Joe Root's Englishmen have a serious chance of consolidating their lead in the next Test starting at Lord's on Thursday. That can be avoided only if the Indian batsmen dig deep into their innermost reserves and come up with a resolute performance. The loss notwithstanding, Kohli's Indians are capable of enjoying an English summer of splendour, but walking out of the dressing room, carrying all that talent and leaving grit behind will not result in tall scores. Fresh guard, please!
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