Balance, the key for Kohli

Cape Town, December 30

India feel they have the right balance in their squad to break new ground and win a series in South Africa for the first time, to underline their top ranking in Test cricket, captain Virat Kohli said on Saturday.

“Our best result here has been a drawn series in 2010-11 but I feel the kind of bowling attack we have now and the balance we have in the side, we definitely can win here. There are no two ways about it,” he said as India began their preparations for the first Test at Newlands in Cape Town, which starts on Friday.

“We come here believing in our abilities and knowing we have the right balance to win Test matches under any conditions. We aren’t thinking about the history of past series in South Africa but concentrating on winning each session and executing our strategy well. I think international cricket is all about staying in the present and trying to do things better than your opposition at all times. If we didn’t have that mindset, there would be no point getting on to the flight to come here,” Kohli said.

Though India, top of the International Cricket Council’s Test rankings, have won their last nine Test series in a row, stretching back to August 2015, their record in South Africa is poor.

“We come to South Africa knowing the wickets are going to be different from those back home. We are under no illusions but we are ready for it. Last time we were here there was a lot of talk about our batsmen being bounced out but we stood up rather nicely. The most important thing is not to get surprised by the pace and bounce. It is going to be much quicker and much more bouncy than back home and you will get balls that will surprise you every now and then, so the most important thing is to focus on the game ball by ball,” said Kohli.

“That’s something we did last time. You can’t afford to worry about the pace and bounce, you have to believe in your abilities and take it head-on. That’s key to playing in conditions that are different from your own,” he added.

‘Warm-up pitch wouldn’t have been close to Test track’

Kohli today justified his team’s decision of not playing a warm-up game ahead of the Test series as the track on offer would not have been even “15 per cent” of what it will be at the Newlands.

“You are never sure whether you will get quality practice games or not. We would rather have practice sessions that are in our control,” Kohli said after the team’s first practice session. “If you look at the wicket we are playing on right now, it’s not even going to be 15 per cent of what we will get in the game,” the skipper said.

“There is no point wasting two days, guys going in, scoring quick fifties and coming out. We would rather have them do two sessions like today, get into the Test match zone and test ourselves,” Kohli added. 

Right frame of mind

The Indian captain also emphasised on being in a right mental space before starting a series, which does not necessarily come from performing well in the warm-up games.

“It doesn’t matter if you have played three practice games, if you are not in right frame of mind. If you are feeling right and you have had good practice sessions, then that is good enough.” 

Simulations

The Indian team today opted for two practice sessions and experimented with different simulations, preparing the wicket according to the conditions they desired. “We can try and prepare the wickets the way we want to. But if you are playing a two-day game there is no chance of changing the wicket at different times of the day,” Kohli said.

“Here we have more freedom to put more water on the wicket, roll it, make it harder, and you have conditions you want,” he added. — Agencies

2 Wins out of the 17 Tests for India in South Africa since 1992. No Indian team has ever won an ODI or Test series in South Africa. They have lost five of the six series, with the 1-1 draw in 2010-11 their best return