Amid all the talk around the Ahmedabad pitch after the tourists were steamrolled in under two days in the Pink-Ball Test, India skipper Virat Kohli – on the eve of the fourth and final Test – said that India plays to win and not to play for the entire duration of five days.
“We play to win and people should be happy that we won and shouldn’t care about how long the match is lasting. You have to look at things objectively. I totally believe that too much noise is being made about spinning tracks,” Kohli said while addressing a virtual press conference ahead of the fourth and final Test against England, which starts on Thursday (March 4).
Citing the example of the New Zealand tour in 2020, Kohli recalled that India did not complain – of how much the ball was moving and the amount of grass on the pitch – after losing a Test in three days.
“We lost to New Zealand inside three days but no one commented how much the ball was moving or the amount of grass on the pitch. We have never criticised the pitch and I don’t know what’s the idea behind continuing this narrative,” he added.
After the thumping 10-wicket win over England in the third Test, Kohli called the batting from both sides ‘bizarre’.
“The result in the last Test was down to bizarre batting by both sides if we managed to bat a bit better in the first innings, the Test wouldn’t have been over in two days,” Kohli had said.
The hosts are expected to be ruthless in the fourth Test on what is expected to be a spin-friendly strip at Motera.
India needs at least a draw to qualify for the Lord’s World Test Championship final against New Zealand while England can help Australia make the cut with a win.