India lost the second Test match and the series against New Zealand in Churchgate. Indian captain Virat Kohli did not try to give any excuses for the same and said the team needs to learn and move on.
Captain blames the batting
In the first innings, Indians made only 242 runs and then in the second one they could score just 124 in the must-win Test match against the Kiwis. The home team had to chase a target of mere 132 runs for the series victory. Indian skipper while asked about such debacle at the prize ceremony he clearly said, “No excuses.” He further added that despite the efforts of the bowling unit on the second day, it was the batsmen who let them down. “We accept it upfront and if we have to win away from home, we have to do that. No excuses, just learning moving forward. In Tests, we weren’t able to play the cricket we wanted to.”
According to the skipper who himself has been going through a tough phase, “The batsmen didn’t do enough for the bowlers to try and attack. The bowling was good, I thought even in Wellington we bowled well. Sometimes if you bowl well and things don’t happen, you have to take it in your stride.”
Kohli adds
Kohli tried to explain what the major difference was between the two teams. He opined that his team failed to execute things well whereas the hosts were sticking to the plans. “It was a matter of not having enough intent in the first game, and not closing out here. We didn’t bowl in the right areas for long enough. They created a lot of pressure. It was a combination of us not executing well enough and New Zealand sticking to their plans. The disheartened captain added, “Disappointing, have to go back to the drawing board and correct things going forward.”
Regarding the toss, Kohli once again did not want to give it that much importance and explained, “Toss, you could think about it being a factor, but we don’t complain. It did give an extra advantage to the bowlers in each Test but as an international side, you’re expected to understand that.”
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