India’s meek surrender in the first innings of the third Test was “bizarre” for skipper Virat Kohli, who said they crumbled in the face of relentless pressure created by the England bowlers.
India lost the Leeds Test by an innings and 76 runs as England levelled the five-match series 1-1.
Kohli admitted after being all out for 78, they were always playing a catch-up game.
“Basically down to scoreboard pressure... Always up against it when you get out for under 80, and the opposition puts up such a big score,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “But we did well to stay in the game yesterday, fight back as much as we could, and gave ourselves a chance. But the pressure today was outstanding from the England bowlers and eventually they got the results they wanted,” he said.
The India captain said the batting collapse they suffered in the first innings was “quite bizarre” after their stupendous show in the Lord’s Test.
“It can happen in this country, batting collapses. We thought the pitch was good to bat on, coming on nicely. But the discipline forced mistakes and the pressure was relentless. Difficult to cope when you’re not scoring runs. That caused the batting order to crumble,” he said.