Indian captain Virat Kohli said that the toss did not matter in the second Test in Chennai, adding that it wouldn't have been 'unfair' on either team.
Indian captain Virat Kohli didn't mince his words as he reacted to suggestions that winning the toss gave India a head start in the second Test in Chennai. Kohli had opted to bat after winning the toss in the game, and the side produced a magnificent all-round display to beat the visitors by 317 runs in the game.
In the post-match presentation, Kohli insisted that it wouldn't have been 'unfair' if toss went either way.
"The toss wouldn't have mattered much in this game to be honest, because if you looked at our second innings, we got 300 as well," Kohli said.
"It wasn't unfair if the toss went either way. Both teams should be in the game from the first session onwards, whether it is on spinning to seaming tracks, and that exactly was the case in this game."
On a turning track, India scored 329 in the first innings and 284 in the other, while England failed to cross the 200-run mark across both innings of the game.
Kohli further said that the Indian team showed "more application" with the bat, adding that he backed the bowlers to step up after the batsmen put runs on the board.
"The conditions were challenging for both sides, but we showed more application with the bat. We didn't panic out there looking at the turn and bounce, we showed grit, got into the game and scored 600 runs in the game. We know our bowlers would do the job for us if we put up these runs," the Indian captain said.
Kohli was dismissed on a duck in the first innings, but tweaked his game in accordance with the pitch conditions in the second, scoring an important 62 to stabilise the Indian innings after a middle-order collapse.
I take a lot of pride in improving myself and correcting my mistakes quickly," Kohli said.
"If I make an error, I make sure I iron it out in the next innings. (Ravichandran) Ashwin batted outstandingly well and that partnership between us was very crucial. I knew I coud trust my defence and easily bat four sessions on this pitch."
