Virat Kohli criticises Indian team's 'Body Language' after 227-run loss to England

India were comprehensively beaten by 227 runs by England in the first of the four-match Test series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday. With the disgraceful loss, India's chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship final at Lord's have become even more difficult. The hosts now need to win the rest of the games or win two and draw one in order for them to progress into the WTC final. If England beat India in any of the next three Tests, India's chances of qualifying for the WTC final will be over.

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Virat Kohli blames players' body language after huge defeat in Chennai Test

Indian captain Virat Kohli was pretty expressive in his post-match presentation speech where he spoke about a plethora of things. The Indian skipper said that the bowlers did not put enough pressure on England batsmen with the ball in the first half and failed to contain runs which is why they were able to put up a big total. Criticising the players, Kohli reckoned that the body language and intensity of the team in the first innings was not up to the mark although they were much better in the second innings.

Kohli agreed with the presenter's comments who said that the fourth and fifth bowlers (Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar) were not up to the mark. Kohli further said that one needs their bowling unit to step up and create pressure on the opposition, which is something that the Indian bowlers failed to achieve. The 32-year old assured that in the next three matches, the Indian team is going to give a tough fight and not let things slip away as they did in this Test.

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The Indian captain reiterated that they have to start off with good body language and put pressure on the opposition from the word go. Kohli opined that it is the mindset that they are trying to get back and reassured that the Indian team knows how to bounce back and they will give their best effort in the next game.

India vs England 1st Test recap

England had everything going their way right from the toss to the end of the match. After opting to bat first, England posted a mammoth 578 riding on the back of a sensational double ton by Joe Root. In response, India were bowled out for 337, thus conceding a massive 241-run lead. England decided against enforcing follow-on as they scored 178 and set India a target of 420. India were never really in the chase as they kept losing wickets regularly and were eventually dismissed for 192, thus handing England a comprehensive win.

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India vs England 2nd Test details

Meanwhile, the second Test of the India vs England 2021 Test series will commence on Friday, February 13 in Chennai. The live streaming of the second Test will begin at 9:30 AM. The India vs England 2nd Test will broadcast live on television on Star Sports Network's Star Sports 1 SD & HD and 1 Hindi SD and HD channels. The entire India vs England series will also be available as a live stream on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website. The India vs England live scores and updates can be found on the websites and social media handles of the BCCI and England Cricket.

India squad for England Tests 2021: Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (Vice-captain), Rishabh Pant (Wicket-keeper), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Hardik, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Md. Siraj, Shardul Thakur.

England squad for India Tests 2021 (first 2 Tests): Joe Root (Captain), Ben Stokes (Vice-captain), Jos Buttler (Wicket-keeper), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, James Anderson, Dom Bess, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Dom Sibley, Jack Leach.

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SOURCE: BCCI.TV