Virat Kohli is set to name the first unchanged team of his near four‑year reign as India’s Test captain and believes his players are ready to prove they are no longer one-hit wonders in England.
India have rolled the selection dice for some 46 Tests in a row in a run that stretches back to their 2014 victory at Lord’s. That result put them 1-0 up in the series but, under the slightly insipid leadership of MS Dhoni, they subsequently wilted for what eventually proved a heavy 3-1 defeat.
The 2-0 series victory against David Gower’s side in 1986 is the only time India have delivered two Test wins in England. But now Kohli – emboldened by the comprehensive victory at Trent Bridge last week that cut England’s lead to 2-1, and the news that Ravi Ashwin is fit following a hip injury – claims they are now ready to buck a couple of trends.
“Seeing the way things are right now, we don’t feel we need to change anything,” said Kohli, whose side are now looking to become just the second in history to come back from 2-0 down after Don Bradman’s Australia team in the 1936-37 Ashes.
“In 2014 we probably didn’t have the experience to capitalise on the lead. Right now we are in a very exciting position, to have gained momentum playing like that when everyone thought it was going to be a clean sweep.
“We have spoken about making sure that we are relentless and ruthless. We cannot be satisfied at all with one victory only, because if Nottingham was hard work this is going to be even harder. England would want to come back strongly. We will have to be even better than at Nottingham to be able to get results our way.”
While Kohli finally found batting allies at Trent Bridge in Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, the win owed much to his bowling attack’s cutting edge. Jasprit Bumrah’s pace pushed England’s batsmen back, while overall India’s extra zip off the pitch (and hard‑handed batting from the home side) gave the slip cordon catches at good heights.
Kohli said: “ They’ve been bowling well as a unit which is the most exciting thing for me as a captain. It gives us happiness when we see our bowlers rushing the opposite batsmen. The game remains in the balance and doesn’t shift completely to one side.
“Eventually whichever side plays well it will win the match. We don’t think we are at a disadvantage when it comes to pace bowling. We think we are equal to any team in the world and if we play well we can win anywhere.”
