‘Pink’ Test: WTC hopes hang in the balance as cricket’s biggest stadium opens its gates
India looking to win both the remaining Tests, says Kohli
TO qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, India need to win a Test and draw the other one against England in the ongoing Test series. But skipper Virat Kohli wants to win both the matches and not think about the WTC points table at present.
The four-match series between India and England currently stands level at 1-1 and now both teams will lock horns in the pink-ball Test, beginning on Wednesday at the Motera Stadium.
During the virtual press conference on Tuesday, Kohli said, the hosts’ focus is “solely” on the two Tests and the side is not contemplating on what will be the possible scenarios for the WTC finals.
“ou can’t play for those kinds of reasons. We are not looking to win one and draw one, we are looking to win both Tests. For us these are two games of cricket and we are solely focused on. What it does afterward is a conversation for later,” said Kohli.
“In the present moment we are preparing for tomorrow, we are ready for the grand five days wanting to win a Test match for India then move on to the next one,” he further said.
Last year, the ICC had decided to change the pointrating system of WTC due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WTC table has now been revised to rank teams based on the percentage of points earned from the series played, meaning teams are ranked in order of percentage of points earned.
For England, this match is all or nothing. They must win this Test and the following one. Only a 3-1 series win can see them go through to the final.
For India, a defeat here would end their hopes of winning the series and of making the WTC final. They must finish this series as victors to reach the decider.
A draw would see England’s chances dashed but India’s dreams still alive, heading into the final Test.
Virat wants batsmen to quickly adjust
Having scored 214 runs in day-night Tests -- the most by any Indian batsman -- skipper Kohli is wary of the “tricky” situation he might encounter during the pink-ball Test.
Of all the India batsmen, Kohli has faired well against the pink ball. But the India skipper still admitted that playing the day-night Test will pose a lot of challenges for the batsmen.
“The pink ball tends to swing a lot more than the normal red ball that we play with. We have experienced that in the one match we played against Bangladesh in 2019. It is much more challenging to play with the new ball in daynight Test regardless of what pitch you are playing on,” said Kohli during the virtual press conference on the eve of the third Test.
“If you are starting your innings in the evening under lights then that one, one, and half-hour is very challenging.
es, the spin will come into play for sure but I don’t think the new ball and fast bowlers can be ignored. The pink ball does bring them into the game till the ball is nice and shiny, something we are very well aware of and preparing accordingly,” he added.
The India skipper explained how playing under the lights is similar to playing in the first session of a normal Test match and a batsman must adjust to the “reversal of roles” quickly. Kohli also pointed out how a batsman needs to start afresh even though he may be set when the sun goes out.
“Well last time we experienced that the first session is probably the nicest to bat when the sun is out and the ball doesn’t do as much but when it starts to get dark especially during that twilight period it gets very tricky the lights changes and it becomes too difficult to sight the ball and then under lights, it becomes like playing the first session in the morning in a normal Test match as the ball does tend to swing,” Kohli explained.
“I think it’s a reversal of roles and something you need to adjust quite quickly as the batsmen. Even though you might be set in the afternoon, you have to take guard again and start from scratch in the evening and probably have to bit more disciplined,” he added. Squads
India: Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), Axar Patel, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav.
England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.