• India captain says batting must improve with side 2-0 down
• Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant may come into starting XI
The joke going around Lord’s last week was that Virat Kohli’s struggles with a bad back were the result of having to carry the Indian batting lineup. After all, their chief problem across the two Tests to date has not been hard to diagnose, with the next highest score after Kohli’s 149 and 51 at Edgbaston an unbeaten 33 from their No 8, Ravi Ashwin, while neither of the tourists’ innings in soggy St John’s Wood matched the 137 peeled off by Chris Woakes.
The opener Murali Vijay is fresh from a Jimmy Anderson-inflicted pair in that innings defeat, both Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul have forgotten that leaving the ball is an option when it is red, not white, while Hardik Pandya sits next best after Kohli’s 240 runs with 90 at 22.5; the green-tinged Trent Bridge pitch will require a screeching handbrake turn to prevent a 3-0 scoreline.
Written by Ali Martin
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/aug/17/virat-kohli-india-fight-series-trent-bridge-england under the title “Virat Kohli says India must show fight to save the series at Trent Bridge”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
