Despite the India's 31-run loss in the first Test match against England at Edgbaston due to a poor batting performance, skipper Virat Kohli defended his team's approach ahead of the second Test at the historic Lord's ground, which starts on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Kohli argued that India has been playing competitive cricket in “every” Test match and as a team, “ we are just about there”.
An interesting dilemma for Kohli would be on the possibility of India playing two spinners at the Lord's Test. Kohli admitted the idea of playing two spinners at Lord's was indeed “tempting”, but he would take a call based on team “balance”.
This is on account of how the recent hot and dry summer in England could potentially lead to quicker wear and tear of the pitch—assisting spinners—and also the performance of R. Ashwin in the Edgbaston Test, in which he grabbed seven wickets for 121 runs. In the event of India selecting two spinners for the Lord's Test, either Kuldeep Yadav—who performed creditably in the T20I and One-Day series—or Ravindra Jadeja could partner with Ashwin. Jadeja's fielding skills and ability with the bat may boost his case.
While defending the top order batsmen over their poor performance at the Edgbaston Test, Kohli said the team needed more “composure” as a batting unit.
The Test match at Lord's starts at 3.30pm IST.