Kohli optimistic about India's chances at Lord's
London, Aug 8 : After going down by a narrow 31-run loss to England in the opening Test at Edgbaston, India skipper Virat Kohli believed that his team is positive going into the second Test at the Lord's, starting Thursday.
Kohli starred in the opening Test, scoring 149 and 51 but fell short of partners as the team succumbed to a narrow loss in the opener of the five-Test rubber.
But the 29-year-old, who rose to his career-best No.1 ICC Test spot after the sterling performance in Birmingham is confident of his No.1 ranked Test team bouncing back in the second match.
"It's not like we're getting rolled over -- every Test match that we're playing is competitive," Kohli said at the pre-match presser on Wednesday.
"I feel as a team we're just about there. We're in the zone where we're very positive," added Kohli, referring to the 95-run win on their last appearance at Lord's four years ago.
India have not won a Test series in England since 2007.
Backing his batsmen to come back in the second game, Kohli said: "Being in the right mindset is a very individual thing."
Asked about his personal achievement of leading from the front when the chips were down in the first innings of the first Test, Kohli said the motivation of leading the country inspires him to perform individually.
"Getting to captain the country, I feel, is an honour and I definitely leave no stones unturned when it comes to that," he said.
Kohli also did not rule out the possibility of India fielding two spinners at Lord's, considering the current hot weather conditions.
"The pitch is going to be, I think, an all-round wicket. When the wicket wears off, the spinners can come into play as well," he said.
"It's a tempting thought to field two spinners but we will have to take a call on that depending on the team balance. It's definitely in contention," he added.
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TN Assembly elections: Eight-month pregnant homemaker wins Thiru Vi Ka Nagar seat for TVK
Chennai (PTI): Before giving birth, she had already delivered a mandate—a symbol of hope for Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.
Echoing Delhi’s 2013 “common citizen” political churn associated with the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an eight-month-pregnant homemaker, M R Pallavi, has been elected as an MLA from Chennai’s Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, emerging as one of the notable first-time faces of the Vijay-led TVK in the recently held Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In the narrow lanes of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, a steady stream of media personnel has been making their way to Pallavi’s residence—a scene reminiscent of the result day in Delhi when journalists thronged the modest home of Rakhi Birla, who had won from Mangolpuri on an AAP ticket.
Pallavi, 36, a homemaker educated up to class XII, defeated the DMK candidate K S Ravichandran by a margin of 22,333 votes in the reserved Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Assembly constituency.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party by winning 108 seats, while DMK and AIADMK got 59 and 47, respectively.
Pallavi’s victory has drawn attention due to her personal circumstances. She campaigned extensively while eight months pregnant, going door-to-door to reach voters.
According to local accounts, she even fainted once during the campaign but continued her outreach.
She has not spoken to the media following her victory, as doctors have advised her to rest. Her husband, Rajesh, briefly recounted her campaign efforts.
A self-professed admirer of actor-turned-politician Vijay, Pallavi joined TVK soon after its formation and is now among its first-time legislators.
Doctors have advised her to be hospitalised around May 20, as she is expecting her second child. Ahead of that, voters in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have entrusted her with representing them in the state Assembly.
Political observers say the rise of candidates like Pallavi signals a possible shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, with voters backing a new party and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
