Virat Kohli said that India indentified their mistakes from England and will look to rectify them against Australia
Team India captain Virat Kohli minced no words before the start of the Australia tour on Wednesday at the Gabba.
Kohli, who was addressing the media ahead of the first T20I of the three-match series in Brisbane on Wednesday, said that India played good cricket in England but committed 'radical' mistakes and that cost them.
"Whatever series we play, we play to win. We figured out our mistakes in England which I mentioned before and they were pretty radical. The quality of cricket was high but our mistakes were as radical and that is why we lost the games. The game where we committed lesser mistakes, we won the game because we were at par with the other team throughout.
"I think we have the ability to compete with the other team throughout at par and in Test cricket, whichever team makes the lesser mistakes, wins the game...that's the rule. So, we are focussing on cutting down our mistakes and if a situation goes bad for us, how to plug that situation as soon as possible and found an outcome to come out of that situation so that we can stabilise our position as a team," Kohli said.
He went on to add India played good cricket Down Under in 2014 but failed to take advantage of the situations and the goal this time around is to cut down on their mistakes and do the little things right.
"Obviously Australia is always a big team for any Indian team that comes here. Last time we played good cricket but were not able to win games. This time around we want to change that and any team obviously should be looking to win Test matches and the series as a whole. We definitely believe that we have the quality to do so.
Out limited-overs form has been great. So throughout the tour, we want to do the little things right and win more situations than the opposition.
So, in Australia, the first goal is to cut down on them and focus on doing the little things right and staying at par with the opposition throughout the tour," Kohli said.
Virat Kohli said he is lucky to have Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in his side
He also heaped praise on the dynamic due of Jaspirt Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, saying that their ability to read the game and react to it is what makes them so good.
The duo have been India's main weapons in the pace department over the last couple of years and Kohli feels it is extremely difficult to give others a chance ahead of them.
"You feel like giving other pacers a go at the start of the series but then again you feel that the start of the series is important. If the other side wins a game or two, you bank on Bhuvi and Bumrah. Both of them have been outstanding and the reason they have been good is because they are thinking bowlers and understand the game and get a gut feeling what the batsman is going to do before the bowl.
And the ability to predict what is going to happen ahead of each ball is what keeps them ahead most of the times. Sometimes they will get dominated like everyone does but I thin 85 to 90 per cent times they are spot on and that is because they are looking at how the game is going, how the batsmen are batting and what are the balls they need to execute at different situations," said the 30-year-old.
The Delhi dasher went on to add that having them in the team is a boon for any captain and from now on till the 2019 World Cup, there is little or no chance to bring in someone else for testing until and unless someone is injured of is overworked.
"So, I think any captain would love to have them in their bowling attack and I've been very happy to have both of them in our bowling so well for the team and giving us those break-throughs as well and again coming in at the death and executing what we want them to.
And from now on it is going to be difficult for anyone to step in until there is a workload issue because till the World Cup, we want our XI to play to play together as long as possible. Yeah! They have been wonderful and hopefully they can continue," Kohli said
