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After the first Test in Rajkot, it is the visitors that go into Vizag with a psychological upper hand. India, who are considered favourites to win the Test series, had to surprisingly grind it out for a draw on the final day at Rajkot. A day ahead of the second Test, Kohli spoke to the media where he addressed various concerns such as India’s catching, the opening combination, and the importance of pitch conditions.
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So we decided to take a look at some of Kohli’s quotes from the press conference and tried to ascertain what the Indian skipper truly meant when he made those statements.
On the opening dilemma:
What he said:
"Rahul is our number one opener along with Murali Vijay. Gautam got his chance as Rahul was injured but now that Rahul is fit and ready, we will look to stick to our old game plan. We are looking at going into the game with the best possible eleven and Rahul is one of our key players.”
What he truly meant:
“ Rahul is going to play all the matches from now, which means – wait for it – you can start carrying out Gambhir tributes in your publications. (Winks)
On playing out a draw at Rajkot:
What he said:
“Rajkot Test was a good opportunity for us to learn how to play out a draw. It might seem to the world that we struggled, but as a team, we believe it was a wonderful opportunity for us to get tested under the pressure of saving a match. We will face similar situations many times in the next ten years or so, and as a successful team, we should know how to deal with them.”
What he truly meant:
“With this bowling line-up, we can’t take 20 wickets overseas. LOL. So drawing games will save my career for the next 10 years.”
On India’s catching during the first Test:What he said:
“We need to take the chances that come in our way. The team can't really afford to drop catches when playing against a side like England. We are working very hard to improve our fielding because we feel taking the half chances can be decisive in big matches."
What he truly meant:
“We need to make clones of myself and then make them stand in all the different fielding positions. The team can’t really afford to have a heavy breakfast – those buggers can’t catch for life early in the morning. We are working very hard to improve our fielding because if the pitch doesn’t spin, I might have to rely on IPL to earn a livelihood.
On the Vizag pitch:
What he said:
"Vizag’s pitch assists the spinners a lot and,we saw that in the last ODI against New Zealand last month. I hope it will behave in the same way. We’ll look to use the previous experience of playing here to our advantage”
What he truly meant:
“Spin! Spin! Spin! Woohoo!”
On the changes expected for the second Test:
What he said:
“We are not looking to change a lot in the second Test. But I can't really say anything about the team selection right now. We will have our team meeting in the evening and will make the final decisions then. ”
What he truly meant:
“We got Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya on the bench. Do I even have a choice? LOL.”
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