Sydney: He is quite proud of the “character and composure” that the Indian cricket team showed in the lost Test series against Australia but skipper Virat Kohli today made it clear that fighting spirit alone cannot make up for the side's poor bowling, which needs to improve “big time”.
The Indians lost the four-match series 0-2, their chances hampered mostly by shoddy bowling which time and again allowed Australian batsmen off the hook.
“There are certain negatives which we want to improve on and at the international level there is a lot for us to improve seeing how the Australians bowled.
We need to improve big time on that and if we can do that we are going to be a strong test team going forward,” Kohli said after fourth Test, which ended in a draw here today.
Asked if this was going to be his prerogative as Test skipper, Kohli said it was impossible to win matches without having the wherewithal to grab 20 wickets.
“To win Test matches you need to take 20 wickets. The reason we have done well at home is we have taken 20 wickets. The spinners have bowled really well.
The fast bowlers know how to bowl in home conditions with reverse-swing and they have a fair idea of the areas they have to bowl in. But when we come out, they get too excited with the bounce,” he explained.
“Actually we need to figure out which are the best areas to bowl to each batsman and work on those areas. You run up to bowl and you can pitch six balls on the same spot. Only then can you set the right fields as the captain to set up a batsman and get him out. The consistency bit is something we really need to work on,” he stressed.
However, Kohli, who made his debut as Indian captain in this see8es following Mahendra Singh Dhoni's shock retirement, was pleased with the overall performance.
“It has been very satisfying to see everyone stepping up in this match and showing a lot of character and composure. Australia bowled quite well if you see their economy rates in this innings and the first innings as well. They have bowled on the spot and we have had to play good cricket shots to score runs,” he said.
