Our worst batting show but let's not make mountain out of molehill: Virat Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli can't remember a "worse batting performance" by his team than lowest ever Test score of 36 against Australia here but at same time, he has urged people t to "make mountain out of a molehill".

He did speak about batsmen "lacking intent" to take forward le and although he didn't take names, Mayank Agarwal's approach (9 off 40 balls) in morning was hard to explain when team h a 62-run overnight vant.

"I don't think we have ever h a worse batting performance than this. So we can only go urds from here and you will see guys stepping up and realising ir true characters," Kohli said in post-match press conference after his team lost first Test to Australia by eight wickets.

Indian captain desperately tried but looked at pains to defend indefensible -- ar inept overseas batting show with six successive scores of less than 250 just this year.

"It's a strange one to be honest in my opinion. ball didn't do much but we didn't have too much intent of going out re and taking game forward," he lamented.

"Everything happened so quickly that one could make any sense of it," Kohli was unable to fathom what hit his team.

Under Kohli, save 2018 series in Australia, Indian team has h way too many batting collapses including six on trot, starting with New Zealand early this year, but strangely skipper felt re isn't anything alarming about it.

"I don't think it's alarming and we can very well sit here and make a mountain out of a molehill, it's basically looking at things in right perspective," he reasoned.

In fact, re has been close to 15 innings in SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) where team has failed but skipper could remember only six in 8-9 years.

"You have just spoken about five or six batting collapses in 8 to 9 years if I am t wrong. re will definitely be collapses again and again and we have to accept our mistakes and what we need to work on. This is t club level cricket and obviously re is a lot of pressure involved at different sts and as batsmen, we take pride in doing our job for team. We are t vulnerable to getting out cheaply or vulnerable to a collapse," skipper asserted.

For Kohli, re is point looking at past and he only wants to think how plans can be re-laid.

"Rar than going into past as to what has happened and let it linger on in future, I don't think that's productive at all. team definitely doesn't think like that and you learn from your mistakes and move forward." He, however, did ackwledge strategic mistakes by his teammates.

"We played eugh cricket to understand what needs to be done at different sts in a Test match. It's just lack of executing a plan which is apt for that situation on Day 3," he said.

"We arrived today with 9 wickets in hand. We should have definitely put in a stronger batting performance. I don't think any mental fatigue is involved and I don't think that's a factor," he ruled out burut aspect completely.

While Josh Hazlwood and Pat Cummins were brilliant in ir lines and lengths, skipper felt that y didn't do anything different compared to first innings.

"Look y bowled similar lengths in first innings also. We were just better in terms of handling it and having a plan around it how to go about it." A le of around 50 plus can always be tricky and that's what happened, feels skipper.

"A bit of a le can always be tricky and as a batting unit, you can go into a he where you feel like you are just 50 or 60 ahe, you don't want to lose early wickets so that opposition comes at you. way we batted allowed m to look more potent than y actually were in morning to be honest because y bowled similar lengths. We batted way way better in first innings," he explained.

Kohli mitted that once again, India let Australian tail wag, allowing home team to reach 191 from 111 for 7 at one st with as many as four catches being dropped during innings.

"It was very crucial. I think y were 7 down for 110 when Tim Paine offered a chance. Teams will t offer you opportunities again and again, you have to grab it when y come your way. H we got a le of 100 or more run and with a decent batting effort opposition starts panicking, target would have slowly move forward," he signed off. Kohli will go on paterity leave w to be re for birth of first child with actor wife Anushka Sharma next month. 

(Photo Credit: Twitter/ICC)