England’s Ball hoping to keep Indian fans quiet
England bowler Jake Ball wants to silence the Indian fans after Virat Kohli’s latest masterclass whipped the stands into a frenzy in the first one-day international.
Ball has played the majority of his career in the gentrified surroundings of county cricket and even a third Test cap in Chennai before Christmas did not prepare him for the sights and sounds of an Indian one-day crowd in full flow.
In Pune on Sunday, almost 40,000 spectators roared the hosts to victory as their biggest star, Kohli, showed the way with a stunning 122.
It was an experience Ball is unlikely to forget in a hurry and more of the same awaits as the series moves on to Cuttack tomorrow.
“It was something quite incredible when Kohli was going. We managed to quieten them down for a little bit but as soon as he got going the crowd was so loud that you couldn’t even hear yourself think,” the Nottinghamshire seamer said.
“Trying to block that out is a real challenge. Bowling at the likes of Kohli you learn a lot about yourself and your mentality.
“It’s something that I’m looking to build on and hopefully I can take the learning experience into the next game.
“It’s about trying to stay calm and just stick to what you’re good at.”
There is a a growing sense of invincibility about Kohli, the game’s most fearless chaser who lies fourth on the all-time list of oneday century makers with 27.
He has passed 50 in 10 of his last 14 innings and reached three figures on five occasions.
But England cannot afford to sit back and admire his genius and are plotting ways to disrupt that staggering run of form.
“There’s a few things we’ve been working on in the nets and hopefully we can put them into practice in a couple of days,” said Ball.
“It’s about trusting your plans, setting a field and bowling to that field; knowing at the end of your mark exactly what you’re going to bowl and not having any hesitation.
“If you have any hesitation out here and you’re slightly off you’re chasing the ball to the boundary.
“We need to stay calm and collected out there and stick to the plans.”