The Indian cricket team’s defeat to England in the opening Test of the 5-match series in Hyderabad has triggered the Indian cricketing spectrum, with questions being raised on skipper Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid, and their leadership. Soon after India lost the series opener in Hyderabad, Virat Kohli started to trend on social media, with fans recalling the former skipper’s brilliant stats and the team’s dominance under his captaincy. Amid the debate, an old video of Kohli has resurfaced, where he summed up the mindset he and the Indian team approach Test matches with.
“I am not saying this in an arrogant way but truthfully, that we have such belief in ourselves that we can beat anyone, anywhere,” Kohli said in the video.
Even former India head coach Ravi Shastri said in the video that he salutes his captain for the way he led his troops. Here’s the video:
Test cricket under Kohli’s captaincy pic.twitter.com/8yk4P7FzI3
— (@123_at_perth) January 28, 2024
After India’s defeat in the Hyderabad Test, skipper Rohit said that the batters didn’t capitalise on the starts they got, allowing England to make a comeback after the hosts had taken a 190-run first innings lead.
“Cricket is played over four days, so it’s hard to pinpoint where it went wrong. Having got a lead of 190, we thought we were very much in the game. Exceptional batting, one of the best that I have seen in Indian conditions by an overseas batter, Ollie Pope played a brilliant knock. I thought 230 was gettable, there wasn’t too much in the pitch.
“We didn’t bat well enough to get to the score. I went and checked where we bowled, we bowled in the right areas.When you finish the day, you analyse what went well and what didn’t go well. The bowlers executed the plans really well, but you got to take your hat off and say well played to Pope. That was some serious knock,” Rohit said after the match.
India would now look to make amends in the second Test which will be held in Vizag.