Adelaide: Ahead of the first Test of the four-match series against Australia, India skipper Virat Kohli wore a confident look and said his team is all set to tackle any challenge that comes up over the next few days.
The first Test, starting Thursday, will be a day-night affair with the pink-ball and Kohli admitted that the twilight period will be a 'tricky one' for batsmen to face whereas the first session will be 'more disciplined' for bowlers.
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"I think you can have a fair idea of how you wanna go about things but I don't think you can plan anything in Test cricket. Test cricket is all about encountering situations and reacting to the situations to the best of your abilities. Understanding when you need to attack, when you need to defend, when you need to bat through the session, end the session well and start the session well. The pink-ball Test obviously brings in a few more variables like the twilight period. It is a tricky one to bat in that situation and probably bowling in the first session is up to being more disciplined and then at night you have more to offer with the ball," Kohli said on the eve of the first Test.
"So, actually it is the other way around when you compare a normal Test match scenario and something we have to analyse and monitor as we go into the Test match and encounter the situation changing and unfolding itself in front of us. We are actually ready to come up with our plans for any situation that we could face," he added.
The skipper said that they are prepared for the Aussies challenge as they have different plans for each opponent batsman and added that they need to execute those plans on the field.
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"Our plans are pretty much sorted and ready for all the batsman that we are going to come up against. We have to make sure that we execute those plans consistently and as efficiently as possible to be able to trouble them and get those breakthroughs and dismiss them at the right time during the Test match. We are only focussed on what we can do as a team and take that confidence and those plans on to the field to be able to execute them," Kohli said.
Prithvi Shaw and Wriddhiman Saha have been named in India's playing XI for the first Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval.
India's playing XI: Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah.
Shaw has been given the nod ahead of Shubman Gill as an opener alongside Mayank Agarwal in the first Test. The 21-year-old Gill had impressed in the two practice games he played for the Indians. In the second practice game that was played with the pink ball, Gill registered scores of 43 and 65 against Australia A. But he will have to wait his turn.
