IND v AUS 2020: Virat Kohli questions Indian batsmen for lacking an 'individual plan'
Indian skipper Virat Kohli believes having a plan that is different for every individual batsman is as important as having a team plan. He feels no matter how much planning happens in a team meeting, but when the batsman is by his own in the middle, he needs to come up with his own plan on how to tackle the tough situation.
The Men in Blue had a lead of 53 runs going into the second innings at Adelaide. However, everything went wrong for them as they suffered an almighty collapse and were bowled out for just 36 runs. From a potentially winning position, an hour of poor batting cost India the first Test.
Virat Kohli reveals how his thought process has been when he has encountered such difficult situations. He always has been positive in his mindset and has believed that if he could get a few runs, the momentum could change in his team's favour.
"In away conditions, you can make a team plan but individually, when one gets down on the field, how their mindset is, is very important. At an individual level, you need to get down on the ground thinking how I am going to play, either I’ll take the game forward or I’ll play extremely solid and be defensively sound and comfortable," Virat Kohli said after the game
"Whenever I have batted in such situations, I have an individual plan in mind, (that) if we score 30-40 runs then the game will go forward. These things make a lot of difference," Virat Kohli further added.
When your mindset is not correct, the opposition can sense they can put you under pressure: Virat Kohli
Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins were brilliant with their line and length and just did not give away any loose balls for the Indian batsmen to cash in. But Virat Kohli reckons it was the poor mindset of the Indian batsmen that made the Aussie bowlers look more dangerous than they actually were.
The 32-year-old stressed how a batsman should be clear in his mind whether he wants to be positive and play his shots or he wants to trust his defence. He stated the Indian batsmen were not clear in their mindset and that is what caused the collapse.
“You can make a lot of team plans but in such important (pressure) situations the individuals have to keep the correct mindset of how they can take themselves forward after analysing the position of the team. That is what leads the match towards a win. When your mindset is not correct, the opposition can sense they can put you under pressure,” Virat Kohli asserted.
Virat Kohli will now head back to India to attend the birth of his first child. Team India have also lost the services of Mohammed Shami for the rest of the series, as he fractured his wrist while facing a short-ball from Cummins.
In these testing circumstances, the Men in Blue will need to find courage to step up and try to turn the Test series in their favour.