Kohli rues soft ball, denies underbowling Ashwin
RANCHI, India: India captain Virat Kohli said his spinners could have been more effective in the drawn third Test against Australia but for the softness of the ball used in the contest.
Having reduced Australia to 63-4 in the final morning after taking a 152-run first inning lead, India looked in a great position to register their second successive victory in the four-Test series. But a wicketless afternoon session scuppered their hopes.
Peter Handscomb and Shaun Marsh collaborated for almost four hours to frustrate the hosts with a dour fifth wicket stand of 124 runs.
Kohli reckoned it could have been different had the balls used in the match retained their hardness.
“I think the hardness of the ball was a big factor,” the 28-year-old told reporters at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium.
“When the ball was new last night, it spun well off the rough. Even this morning, it was spinning well. But in the middle session, the ball was not hard, so could not generate that kind of pace from the wicket.”
After Kohli took the new ball, Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Marsh for 53, while spin partner Ravichandran Ashwin sent back Glenn Maxwell but Australia had reached safety by then. LONDON: Formula One’s new rules are “just what the doctor ordered”, even if rival teams have become more competitive, according to Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff.
The Austrian said in a preview for Sunday’s Australian season-opener in Melbourne that Mercedes, the dominant team of the past three years, faced a big challenge.
“We have been very successful over the last three years through stable rules — but no team has ever maintained its success over such a big regulation change before,” said Wolff.
“In a way, it’s just what the doctor ordered. To have such a challenge is good for the team.
“We have done the best job we possibly could over the winter and, if we are not the fastest in Melbourne, then it’s about finding out why and what needs to be done to get us back to that top spot.”
Ferrari emerged from pre-season testing with the quickest times, although the Mercedes
“On day five, wicket slows down anyway. We took the new ball and got a couple of wickets. But the hardness of the ball in the middle session was a factor,” added Kohli.
His counterpart Steve Smith was rather amused when asked about his opinion.
“I haven’t really thought about it. We both use the same ball, you just got to do what you can with it,” he said.
Kohli dismissed suggestion that he underbowled off-spinner Ashwin, currently the top ranked test bowler, while persisting with Jadeja, who claimed nine wickets in the match.
“The fast bowlers were more effective from the far end the spinners from the commentary end,” Kohli explained.
“Whenever Jadeja came to bowl, pairing of triple champion Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas did the most laps with impressive reliability.
Bottas, previously with Williams, has he picked up a wicket or two every three-four overs. It was very difficult to change him at that stage because he was bowling in good momentum. That was one of the factors.” Kohli said Jadeja’s second innings figures 44-18-54-4 was the most economical had seen and the left-arm spinner of he replaced 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg, who retired days after winning his first title.
Hamilton, winner of 53 Grands Prix over his career to date, starts the season as favourite outperformed everyone on a pitch which did not offer much assistance to them.
“You can leave aside Jadeja, because he really stood apart among the bowlers. But I think generally bowlers found it difficult to make things happen from the centre of the wicket,” he said. for a fourth championship and opening race.
Bookmakers William Hill have the Briton at 10/11 for Melbourne, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel second favourite at 7/2 and Bottas at 6/1.
“We believe that it is going to be another Mercedes procession but the Australian Grand Prix is often unpredictable,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams.
Wolff said testing in Barcelona had indicated “that the margins at the front of the field have shrunk,” although there was no way of knowing for sure.
Teams use testing to experiment with fuel loads and power unit settings.
Mercedes have won 51 of 59 Grands Prix since the 1.6 litre V6 turbo hybrid units were introduced. The team also started all but one of last season’s races on pole position. Ferrari and Red Bull are the only teams to have beaten Mercedes since 2013. to win the