“I would rather have an extra bowler,” observed India skipper Virat Kohli here on Wednesday.
“In such conditions, > if you go with four bowlers then obviously that combination works . So it depends on what kind of combination we want to go with. That’s certainly something that we can keep in mind but it’s highly unlikely.
“You expect your best batsmen to take responsibility and do the bulk of the scoring. I would rather have an extra bowler, ready to give me ten to fifteen extra overs, than someone getting tired and not being able to take wickets at important times. I think we need to find the right balance between batsmen taking responsibility and bowlers taking wickets at important times.”
Praise for Ashwin>He praisedR. Ashwin. “He’s definitely someone who has taken his game to the next level. He wants to do well when we play away from home as well, which is exciting for any captain. The way he bowled in Sri Lanka proved to everyone that he is among the top two-three spinners in the world.”
On himself, Kohli observed, “The only thing that has changed since I became captain is that I have 40 grey hairs in my beard! I am the same person that started playing for India. Obviously you do make mistakes and you learn from them along the way. I thought I wasting my energies on being too expressive on the field at times which I have started to conserve and use it in better places.”
Meanwhile, his counterpart Hashim Amla, emphasised on playing tough cricket.
“I think we know the way how South Africans play. We try and play tough cricket on the field. It’s nothing to look further than that. Not to put emphasis on the opposition but what we do. One of the successes we have had is that we have managed to bat, bowl and field decently and we will try to continue with that.”
>Amla highlighted the work of the South African seamers . “South Africa’s history has been that we have been very good with our seam bowlers wherever in the world we have been. When you have got the quality of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and the up-and-coming KG (Kagiso Rabada), we feel blessed. It’s fortunate that our seam bowlers have done well in the sub-continent.”
Duminy out Admitting that J-P. Duminy would miss the match, Amla said, “If you are faced with a raging turner, JP adds the spin option for us. Obviously with him not being in the team, it adds a bit more dynamics to the team. As I said, traditionally in the last 15 years our strength has been the seamers. Our spinners over the years have developed mentally and technically to deal with situations of attacking and defending at various times.
“Certainly one of the things that we want to do is win a series in India. We have never been a part of series that we have won in India,” concluded Amla.
