LONDON: India captain Virat Kohli batted with a lower back pain in the second Test against England but is confident of regaining full fitness ahead of the next game starting at Nottingham on August 18.
India lost the second Test by an innings and 159 runs on day four at Lord’s. Kohli could score just 17 from 29 deliveries before becoming Stuart Board’s victim in the second innings which folded for 130 in 47 overs.
“It is a lower back issue, coming up again and again, purely because of the workload and the number of matches I have been playing,” Kohli said when asked if he batted with an injury which affected his movement on the crease. “It’s five days to go. I am confident I will be fine in five days time with a bit of rehabilitation. I should be okay,” he said. Indian batsmen capitulated once again and they were all at sea against the moving ball. James Anderson (4-23) once again toyed with the Indian batsmen, taking his match tally to nine, and equally effective was Stuart Broad (4-44).
“I am not very proud of the way we played to be honest. It is first time in the last five Test matches we’ve been outplayed. But credit to England, they were clinical. When a team plays like that they deserve to be on the winning side. And we deserved to lose.Their bowlers were relentless with the ball. Looking at things now, the weather was so unpredictable,” he added. (PTI)
