Batting well is not about the technique, it is more of a mental aspect: Virat Kohli

The Indian cricket team is gearing up for the second Test against England that will be played at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London starting tomorrow. Being 0-1 down in the series, the team is currently under severe pressure to perform and level the series. Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who spoke to the media on Wednesday ahead of the game and he seemed to be calm and composed.

The Indian batsman is confident that they will do a lot better in the second Test. He said that the team wasn’t trashed by England in the first Test and that his boys have given the opposition some tough competition. Virat also noted that the team should show some better balance in order to end up on the winning side.

Virat Kohli feels that playing in England is tough

On being asked if the defeat in the first Test was a batting failure, “We should not judge so fast, jump into conclusions,” Kohli said. “As a team, we keep patience. We don’t judge so fast. We don’t see any pattern to (the failures). As far as wickets falling in a heap is concerned, it’s not about technique, it is more of a mental aspect,” the skipper conceded.

Speaking about wickets falling in clusters, the 29-year-old said that it is important to focus harder while facing the first 20-30 balls. He said that they have discussed this issue as a batting unit and also noted that playing in England is difficult as the margin of error had to be brought down.

“From outside it looks very bad, especially it is Test cricket and we are playing in England, where it is anyway difficult. But we only need to bring down the margin of error. Beyond that we don’t need to worry too much,” he added.

There were also questions about playing a second spinner in the XI. Virat said that this isn’t an easy decision. “It could be a tempting thought. The pitch looks very hard, the surface very dry. It has been very hot in London for the last couple of months. There is good grass cover in it and that is required basically to keep the wicket together,” he said.

The skipper talks about the pitch

Speaking about the surface at Lord’s for the 2nd Test the skipper stated, “The pitch is going to be an all-round one; if batsmen bat well they can get runs, obviously the Dukes ball in overcast conditions; and when the wicket wears off, the spinners can come in. It is a tempting thought to field two spinners. But, we have to take a call on that depending on the team balance. But two spinners are definitely in contention.”

Kohli concluded by saying that it doesn’t matter who gets the runs as long as the team wins. “It is unfortunate we haven’t been able to cross the line after coming so close, that is the only thing we are looking at. It doesn’t matter whether I get the runs or Jinks (Rahane) does or Vijay does or KL Rahul does. As long as we cross the line, that is the only thing that matters.”

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