India skipper Virat Kohli bemoaned the lack of intent from the batsmen, as the visiting team slumped to its lowest score in Test history in Adelaide on Saturday.
“We just did not have enough intent with the plan of taking the game forward. Things happened so quickly, one could not make sense of it,” said Kohli after the loss.
When asked if the lengths the Australian pacers bowled did not allow the batsmen to be more positive, Kohli said, “No, they bowled similar lengths to the first innings, but we just were better [then] in terms of handling it and having a plan around it. A bit of a lead can always be tricky. As a batting unit, you get into a head-space where you feel, ‘We are just 50-60 ahead and we don’t want to lose wickets so that the opposition comes into the game’. We should have seen where the game needs to go [rather] than where it has come to till now. The way we batted made them look more potent than they were,” he explained.
Kohli also added that the team should have done a better job on the second day, especially with its catching, as it let Australia, which was on 111 for seven at one stage, off the hook.
“It was very crucial and they can be very costly. It is something we realised in a harsh way, what the repercussions of not taking those opportunities can and will be in Test cricket.
“It would have been a boosting factor if we had a lead of a few more runs because then you are already over 100. With a decent batting effort, the opposition starts panicking as the target is surely moving up,” Kohli added.