Rajkot: Virat Kohli admitted that India faltered on day one and two in the field and could have done much better after the team managed to secure a draw after a few nervous moments on day five of the first Test against England in Rajkot on Sunday.
India were sloppy in the field as catches went down in a flurry on the first day of the Test and a couple more on day two. While Ajinkya Rahane, Kohli and Murali Vijay let off Cook and debutant Haseeb Hammed on day one, Wriddhiman Saha dropped sitter as Ben Stokes went on to score a ton.
Not only did it allow a sigh of relief but it also helped the visitors to amass 537 runs in the first innings.
While the trio of R Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja shared six wickets between themselves in the first innings, they could not stop the Alastair Cook-led unit scoring freely.
Kohli said,” We could have been much better on days one and two. We dropped five catches.
“England are a side we are not going to take for granted. (We) need to correct the things we need to,” added the Indian skipper.
While the draw always looked a likely result after England declared in post lunch session, India lost 6 wickets to add drama to the match. However, Kohli (49 not out) made sure England did not pull off an upset win at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
Talking about his innings, Kohli said: "(It was a) good opportunity to find out new things about your (his) game. Couldn't get a better chance to practice other aspects of your game (towards the end). (It is) important to convince yourself you can negotiate what's thrown at you.”
Kohli, who had earlier said that India won’t underestimate England in the Test series, reiterated his views.
“England are a side we are not going to take for granted. England's bowlers put constant pressure. We need to accept what happened,” concluded Kohli.
