Kohli vow: We’ll turn it around

SKIPPER: I’M PRETTY RELAXED, I’M HAPPY, I’M SMILING

Bangalore a happy hunting ground for India in the past.

Bangalore

Virat Kohli yesterday dismissed Australia’s claim that India are under pressure following their heavy opening Test defeat as “mind games”, insisting there will be no repeat performance in the second clash.

Steve Smith’s Australians, who started the four-match series as underdogs, humiliated topranked India by 333 runs inside just three days in Pune last week, meaning the hosts must winin Bangalore to keep alive their hopes of winning the contest.

Smith told Australian media that India will be “under (a) little bit of pressure” going into the second Test, stressing his side were just a couple of good sessions away from retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

But skipper Kohli said India were focusing on their game rather than bothering about what the opposition was saying.

“I’m pretty relaxed, I’m happy, I’m smiling. It’s his (Smith’s) views, whatever he wants to say,” said Kohli at Bangalore’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, on the eve of the Test starting today.

Australia beat India at their own game of spin, restricting the hosts to miserable scores of 105 and 107 on the Pune wicket, which offered huge turn throughout.

The loss ended India’s record unbeaten run of 19 Tests, which stretched back to 2015, and Kohli promised Indian fans they would not repeat their dismal showing.

“I can assure you everyone is taking this as a massive challenge and everyone is raring to turn things around in the series,” said the captain, who endured a rare duck during the first innings.

“I assure you that you will not see a repeat of that kind of performance,” Kohli added.

While the Pune wicket was rated “poor” by match referee Chris Broad and attracted a lot of criticism, Kohli expects the Bangalore pitch to favour the Indians.

“Whenever we have played Test cricket out here we have done really well,” he said.

“The last time we played a Test there we won, even against Australia the last time we played here we won,” he added. –