Adelaide: India skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday (December 19) expressed sorrow after his team lost the first Test in Adelaide against Australia. The visitors had done well at the close of day two to take a lead of 62 runs with nine wickets in hand.
It seemed like India would put a challenging total on the board for the Aussies to chase. But with pacers Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins picking eight wickets each in the first session, Australia bounced back in the match to pick up an eight-wicket win.
India suffered a batting collapse, losing eight wickets for 27 runs and posted their lowest total in a Test inning of 36/9. Speaking after the match, Kohli said that the Adelaide Test loss really hurts.
“It’s very hard to put those feeling into words. We had a lead of 60-odd when we arrived. And then just collapsed. Played two days of good cricket to get in a position and then just lose it in an hour. Really hurts,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Probably didn’t have enough intent in the batting today. It’s something that needs to be reflected and learnt from. Bowlers bowled similar kind of areas in the first innings as well, but then our mindset was to get runs.”
“There were some good balls. But I don’t think it did anything drastic. Just the atmosphere was created where runs were difficult to come by. I think it was a combination of both – lack of intent, and bowlers bowling in good areas. Obviously, you want to be committed to the team’s cause.”
Kohli, who is set to fly out soon to be home with his wife Anushka Sharma for the birth of their first child, said it would have been good to get a result in his favour. “Obviously, you want to be committed to the team’s cause. A result here would have been really nice. But I’m pretty confident that the boys going forward will reflect on this and come back stronger on Boxing Day,” Kohli signed off.
The two teams will face off again in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26-30.
