India captain Virat Kohli has urged Indian cricket fans to not to “give up on us (the team)” after the rout in the Lord’s Test that has given hosts England a 2-0 lead and a solid platform to win the five-Test series.
Team India, led by Virat Kohli, was destroyed in less than three days at the Lord’s. But for Kohli, no other batsmen had been able to offer any semblance of resistance as the Englishmen routed the visitors in the first two Tests. As the fear of a whitewash looms, Kohli took to Facebook and shared an emotional message after India suffered an innings and 159-run defeat at the hands of England in the second Test at Lord’s.
“Sometimes we win and other times we learn. You never give up on us and we promise to never give up on you either. Onwards and upwards,” reads Kohli’s post.
More than the defeat, India’s attitude towards gearing up for the gruelling series has let the fans disappointed and critics gunning for the team management. The champions in the limited overs format with the white ball, India have more often than not struggled against the Red Ball miserably on overseas tours.
Still the team did not take the England series seriously enough. They agree for only one practice game in spite of sufficient time have two. That one customary preparation game was reduced to three days from the scheduled four, as India played with all the 18 members of the touring party. That reflects the lack of professionalism and seriousness towards the challenge.
In the first Test at Headingly, there was no win and no lessons learnt either. The “tourists” in England chose to not to practice for days together as some of them preferred to use the time for travelling across Europe. More than the defeats, this attitude of the team has upset the fans, who live and breathe cricket day in and day out.
“We have to accept the mistakes, learn from them, put them aside, make sure we’re not thinking about the same mistakes again, rather get confident and not repeat those again,” Kohli had said after the match. “We’re thinking of nothing else but to go 2-1 in the series, and from thereon build on that strongly. We know that we do have the bowling attack to pick up 20 wickets and as batsmen we should think of that as an opportunity to score runs and make the team win games. What is sad is that we haven’t had those two skills come together,” the Indian captain had added.
For the team selection to performance in the middle – with the bat and in the field – India’s amateurish show has so far been a huge disappointment. Kohil has been a saving grace as a batsman, but a big failure – like the entire team management – in his leadership. There will be changes and chopping in the XI for the most crucial third Test. But it is the “culture” in the Indian dressing room and attitude of the think tank that needs a change now.
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