da betsul： Virat Kohli has suggested India are likely to stick to a five-bowler combination for the second Test in Jamaica, despite the “bounce and carry” that its green-tinged pitch promises
da fezbet： Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kingston29-Jul-2016Each of the last 15 Test matches at Sabina Park has ended with one team victorious and the other defeated. The pitch for the second Test between West Indies and India, which starts on Saturday, promises yet another decisive result, and Virat Kohli has welcomed it. India, he said, were “excited” to be playing at a “result-oriented ground”.”We’re not focusing on the opposition too much,” he said. “We are happy that the wicket is going to have some bounce and carry. There was decent enough bounce in Antigua for us to exploit whatever help was there. Jamaica is going to be even better, it’s a result-oriented ground, we all know that. We’re quite excited about it.”We’ve got good pace, the bowlers are bowling good areas. We’d just like to focus on that and believe that our batsmen are good enough to tackle any pace and bounce that West Indies’ bowlers have. The plan is to go out there and play with the determination and focus that we showed in the first game.”Ahead of the first Test in Antigua, Kohli had spoken about India’s horses-for-courses approach, and picking the best possible bowling attack that could take 20 wickets in the given conditions. Considering the tinge of green on the Sabina Park pitch, India may have been tempted into thinking they may not need a five-bowler combination, such as the one they picked in Antigua, and instead play an extra batsman at No. 6. But Kohli indicated India would stick to the same approach that won them the Antigua Test by an innings and 92 runs. He also suggested India would need two spinners, and felt slow bowlers would come into the game in the second innings.”Honestly there’s not much room to change when you’ve won the first game, knowing that the fast bowlers have done the job,” he said. “There’s good bounce in this wicket. The last time we played a Test here, in 2011, [Amit Mishra] and Harbhajan [Singh] both got good turn and bounce. So the spinner can’t be left out of the game.”There is a second innings as well, we need to understand that. It’s not overcast conditions and a green pitch where you will compromise on one spinner. You know that when the wicket dries up it will start turning and there is good bounce so the spinners will come into play. Like they did in the last game also, spinners can play a massive role. I think the roles will switch pretty drastically with each innings, that’s what I feel, for all bowlers, and for that we have to have all bases covered for us to have enough options to take 10 wickets in the second innings also.”We need to have a good balance of spinners and fast bowlers for us to get a result. And that’s what we had in the first game. As I said, when you win there’s not that much room for change unless the conditions are drastically different, which they are not. There’s pace and bounce here, and I think this will help the spinners in the second innings as well.”Kohli was confident India’s lower order could perform just as well as they had done in Antigua, where R Ashwin, batting as high as No. 6 for the first time in his career, scored a hundred, with Wriddhiman Saha and Amit Mishra making more-than-useful contributions at No. 7 and No. 8 as well.”It’s no different to any other place we will play at,” Kohli said. “Obviously we need to be wary of the conditions a bit more because it is a ground that is result-oriented. It’s obviously going to take more application than we showed at Antigua already. It’s going to take more responsibility and more concentration by the batsmen to get the job done.”Ashwin came good at six, Saha played well, Mishi got runs. That just deepens our batting line-up and gives us the same bowling options that are required to take 20 wickets. It’s an exciting ground to play at because you know there is going to be a result. The match is going to be hard-fought and any session can change the game. Which is very exciting for us as Indian Test cricketers.”India will make one forced change to their XI, with M Vijay yet to recover fully from a bruised thumb he suffered during his first-day dismissal in Antigua. KL Rahul, who has already scored two hundreds in five Test matches, is set to replace him at the top of the order.”Well, [Rahul has] been in a very good zone,” Kohli said. “He scored runs in the practice games, he scored in [the ODI series in] Zimbabwe, we all know that. He had a great IPL season. I think that was the turnaround for confidence as far as he’s concerned. Last year, he had a good tour to Sri Lanka, got a hundred there. Again, didn’t play against South Africa [at home].”It’s more a case of a guy waiting for an opportunity. You can see that with him. You can sense it. He wants to play. He’s batting really well, he wants to make it count. He wants to get big runs. I’m confident of his abilities. He’s pretty compact, he’s a solid opener, and he’s a great fielder as well. Gives you that wicketkeeping option as well, in case something happens to Saha.”He’s, all in all, a great package for the team and it’s great to see that he’s going to get a Test match. Obviously, unfortunately Vijay has to miss out because of injury. Not good for him. He’s someone who has always done well for the team, always takes pride in playing for the country. He was not really happy with getting hit in the first innings, which is not in his control.”KL is excited. KL is ready. KL is batting really well and that’s obviously a very good thing for the team.”
