Virat Kohli feels Nadeem and Sundar could have been more economical in the first innings
Virat Kohli believes England took the upper hand in the first Test when they managed to post a humongous 578 runs in their first innings and feels that the Indian team didn't bowl consistently as a unit.
While the likes of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravichandran Ashwin kept things tight, Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar bowled too many loose deliveries.
In the post-match video conference, Virat Kohli explained that had Nadeem and Sundar been able to squeeze the England batsmen through some tight bowling, the situation of the game could have been different.
"We didn't bowl well collectively. If you talk about the fast bowlers and Ashwin, then yes, we bowled consistently in the good areas. But if Washi (Sundar) and Shahbaz had been economical, we could have created more pressure and the situation could have been different," Virat Kohli said.
"We need to continuously put pressure on England" - Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli accepted that the hosts didn't put enough pressure on the England batsmen during their first innings. Every time there was a quiet spell from one end, there was also a hit-me ball from the other that released all the pressure onthe visitors.
"We need to continuously put pressure on them (England). If we are able to do that, I truly believe that we will achieve the results that we have as a side," Virat Kohli said.
Team India also failed to get anywhere near England's daunting first-innings score, giving them a massive lead of 241 runs. Virat Kohli feels his men need to dominate such crucial situations in a game and not let the opposition take the initiative.
"When you are batting second, it becomes crucial to reach as close as possible to the first innings total of the opposition. We need to capitalize those crucial moments," he further added.
England will have one confirmed change in their line-up as wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes will replace Jos Buttler, who heads back to England due to their player management policies.
With the likes of Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes also in the squad, it will be interesting to see how the visitors rotate their quicks.
Team India, on the other hand, might need to find a way of playing Kuldeep Yadav in their XI for the second Test. But if he replaces Nadeem, the hosts' bowling attack will become 'one-dimensional', according to their skipper.
This might mean that despite scoring a brilliant 85* in the first innings, Sundar's place in the XI would be judged on the way he bowled. There are certainly some tough decisions that the Indian team management will need to make ahead of the second Test.