England chalk out plans to contain Virat Kohli in the Mohali Test

After suffering a crushing defeat against India in the 2nd Test at Vizag, England would look to tame Virat Kohli and get him out early if they garner any chances of winning the 3rd Test at Mohali. Virat Kohli has been in a scintillating form off late and the English bowlers have come out with different plans and ideas to dismiss him early.

While Test skipper Virat Kohli scored a match winning 167 in the 1st innings to take India to 455, Spin ace Ravichandran Ashwin’s contribution with both bat and ball was equally important as he scored a composed half century and backed it up with 8/119 in the match.

English pacer Chris Woakes who was impressed with his performance in the opening Test stated that they needed to get Kohli out early. “Kohli scored a lot of those runs, Pujara has also scored. Kohli has scored a majority of runs, particularly in that second Test match. So, we are going to have plans to him to try and stop him scoring. Once he gets in, it’s hard to get him out.”

Speaking of England’s humiliating loss in the 2nd Test, Woakes said that all was not lost for England and they have a very good chance of making a comeback just like their fairy tale series victory over the hosts in the 2012 series after trailing 0-1.

“I feel that the teams are fairly evenly matched,” he said, at the same time acknowledging that India was playing in their home conditions.

“Although we have lost that last Test match, we felt that we have played some good cricket on this tour barring a session maybe,” the fast bowler said.

When asked about his form after being rested for the 2nd Test, Woakes said he was fully fit and raring to go. “Yeah, I suppose you always want to play, you don’t want to miss any Test match, particularly when you feel you are in decent form and decent nick. Yeah, I suppose it’s one of those things which happens”, the paceman said.

Woakes who has been an important member of the English side in the recent past is set to play in his 16th Test at Mohali after missing the previous one.