Indian captain Virat Kohli hit back at critics of spinner-friendly pitches in India, as he addressed a press conference on Wednesday ahead of the fourth and final Test against England which begins in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
India defeated England inside two days in the pink ball Test at the Motera Stadium, days after the visitors crumbled on another spin-assisting pitch in Chennai in the second Test.
England managed 112 and 81 in the Ahmedabad Test after scoring 134 and 164 in Chennai as Ashwin Ravichandran and Axar Patel starred for the hosts.
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“There is always too much noise and too much conversation about spin tracks,” said Kohli. “I am sure if our media is in a space to contradict those views or present views which say that it is unfair to criticise only spin tracks, then it will be a balanced conversation.
“I don’t understand why the ball and pitch are brought into focus. The focus should be on the batsmen not being good enough. It was just bizarre batting. You’re not reading the game properly if your focus is on the ball and pitch.”
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Kohli, at the end of the third Test, had blamed the batsmen’s technique for their failure on the Motera track.
“But the unfortunate bit is everyone plays along with that narrative (spinning tracks) and keeps making it news till the time it is relevant. And then a Test match happens, if you win on day four or five, no one says anything but if it finishes in two days, everyone pounces on the same issue,” he said.
Kohli cited one of India’s losses in New Zealand when the team struggled on a seaming pitch. He recalled how it was batsmen’s technique, and not the track, that came in for scrutiny.
“We lost in New Zealand on day three in 36 overs. I am sure none of our people wrote about the pitch. It was how India played badly in New Zealand. None of the pitches were criticised, no one came and saw how the pitch was doing, how much the ball was moving and how much grass was there on the pitch,” he said.
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Kohli said his team has been successful over a period of time by adapting to conditions instead of complaining about them.
“The reason for our success is that we have not cribbed about any pitch we have played on and we will continue to play like that. We all need to be honest with ourselves what is the idea behind continuing this narrative and what purpose it serves people who keep continuing the conversation which is one-sided,” he said.
Kohli also spoke about how the increase in white-ball cricket over the years has led to a downside when it comes to the longest format.
“As a batsman, your defence needs to be strong in tough conditions,” he said. “We do have more results these days in Tests because of the influence of white-ball cricket, but I feel that has had an adverse effect on batsmen’s defensive technique.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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