Against New Zealand’s four-pronged seam attack and Colin de Grandhomme, India fielded three seamers and two spinning all-rounders in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Although Jadeja contributed with the bat, he looked surplus to requirements as a bowler on a pitch where seamers had the upper hand all along.
Virat Kohli, however, said both spinners would have come into play had the weather allowed more days of cricket. He added that the team selection was a ‘unanimous decision’, considering the conditions at hand and the team’s batting depth.
The closest man to being India’s fast-bowling all-rounder in Test cricket is Hardik Pandya, who is currently in Sri Lanka preparing for the limited-overs series. He hasn’t been given the all-clear to bowl in Test matches yet and is unlikely to get that until after IPL 2021.
Although New Zealand had a similar batting lineup to India on paper, with an all-rounder at No. 7, their lower order gave them an edge because of Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee’s prowess with the bat.
Speaking about Jamieson, his teammate at Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Player of the Match in the WTC final, Virat Kohli said that the former thoroughly deserves success because of his skills and attitude.
“We have the squad and the quality to do something special” - Virat Kohli on England Tests.
Although they lost the WTC final, Virat Kohli co’s tour of England has just started. They will now play Joe Root’s England in a cracking five-match Test series in August. Virat Kohli asserted that his team has what it takes to do ‘something special’ in the series, possibly implying an avenging of the 4-1 loss suffered in 2018.
The first Test between India and England will be played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham from August 4.
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