Virat Kohli succumbed to his fourth straight loss as Indian captain in Test matches upon his return to lead the side. India lost to England by 227 chasing 420 to win on the final day at the Chepauk. Jack Leach and James Anderson took seven wickets amongst themselves to restrict India from chasing the score down. Playing his 100th Test, Root won his 26th Test as captain and his sixth Test straight in the subcontinent.
Meanwhile, at the post-match presentation, Virat Kohli explained the logic behind Kuldeep Yadav’s exclusion from the playing XI in Chennai. Having played his last Test in 2019, Kuldeep has not been a part of India’s playing XI for 14 test matches despite being a part of the squad.
We Needed Variety: Virat Kohli
“When you are playing two off-spinners, Kuldeep more or less becomes a similar kind of spinner (bringing it into the right-handers). So, we needed variety. We were quite clear what combination we wanted to play, and there are no regrets whatsoever” said Kohli on Kuldeep.
Shabaz Nadeem who was picked ahead of Kuldeep for the first Test was the most expensive Indian bowler in the first Test. Playing in place of Kuldeep Yadav, Nadeem had match figures of four for 233. He was the most expensive of all the Indian bowlers and bowled the most number of no-balls as well (9).
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The Indian skipper Virat Kohli further explained his disappointment over the condition of the SG balls. Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin also spoke about the balls despite picking up six wickets in the second innings.
“Quality of the ball (SG-Test) was also not what we were very pleased to see as that was also the case in the past. Just the ball completely being destroyed in 60 overs is not something that you experience as a Test side and any side could be prepared for,” Kohli said.
Both teams meet in three days’ time for the second Test starting from February 13 at the same venue, this time with spectators watching the game. It will be interesting to see if Kuldeep is picked in the playing XI.
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