India captain Virat Kohli addresses India’s team selection in the Perth Test. (Source: AP)India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday spoke on the team’s decision to play with four fast bowlers and no spinners after the visitors suffered a 146-run defeat at the hands of Australia at Perth. India’s selection choice was questioned in the match with Australia scoring 326 runs on the board and spinner Nathan Lyon registering a five-wicket haul for the hosts in the first innings.
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli said that the wicket looked suitable for seamers. “When we looked at the pitch we didn’t think about [Ravindra Jadeja] but I thought Nathan Lyon bowled really well. We never thought we wanted to consider a spinner, thought four fast bowlers would be enough,” he said.
He further credited the bowlers for being relentless even when they were unable to find breakthroughs. “[Our bowlers] are outstanding as a pack, to see them dominate was really good to see and something we want to build on. They are relentless even if they aren’t getting wickets which is a great quality,” Kohli said.
On being asked what he thought about his team’s performance, Kohli said that Australia deserved to win. “As a team I think we played well in patches which we can hold onto. Australia played much better than us with the bat. 330 on that pitch we felt was a bit too much. They deserved to win. We had the belief we could do it, but they were more relentless and put us in trouble. When you don’t win you don’t really rank your performances so it’s irrelevant because we didn’t get the result we wanted. I’m just focused on the next Test,” he said.
On his controversial dismissal in the first innings, Kohli said: [The catch to dismiss him] It was a decision made on the field and it stays there. Nothing more to it.”
Skipper Tim Paine, who won his first Test as the captain said that he feels relieved to finally register the win. “It’s probably more a relief at the moment, first Test win has taken a while. Really proud of the players and staff. Good to get a little bit of reward. It was as difficult Test, both have been tough Tests. Two really competitive sides with good fast bowling attack. The pitch was flying through. It seemed like the roller had a real effect on it,” he said.
He further praised Lyon, who received the man of the match for picking up 8 wickets in the Test. “Uzzie has been batting well for a long time, bowling really well to all of us. He’s in a really good space. It’s great to have Gaz, every team wants a spinner like Nathan Lyon. He loves bowling to the best players in the world,” he said.
