Kolkata: India must play exciting Test cricket to entertain the crowds, skipper Virat Kohli said after defeating New Zealand, amid waning interest in the game’s longest form.
India regained the top spot in the world rankings in Tests and sealed the three-match series against New Zealand with a comprehensive 178-run victory in Kolkata on Monday.
The series against the Black Caps marks the start of a packed programme of international cricket for India, who also host England, Bangladesh and Australia later this season.
Kohli said players needed to interact with the crowd during Tests, in a similar fashion to the high-energy, limited-overs games.
“You saw how engaged the crowd was, they like to see exciting cricket, and we have to provide it,” Kohli said after winning the second match in Kolkata to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
“You have to interact with them, you have to make sure they are a part of the whole thing. You feed off their energy. It happens so much in limited overs, so why not in Test cricket?”
The comments come as Test cricket struggles to find an audience in the Twenty20 era, prompting last year’s introduction of day-night Tests played under lights with a pink ball in Australia.
Former cricket greats including Shane Warne and some cricket board chiefs have also flagged slashing the format from five to four days.
But controversial plans to create a two-tier Test system have been scrapped by cricket’s world governing body after India’s powerful board led a backlash.
Meanwhile, New Zealand stand-in-skipper Ross Taylor on Monday said that his team was always playing catch-up after they fell over 100 runs behind in the first innings of the second Test.
New Zealand were all out for 204 in their first innings in reply to India’s 316. Eventually chasing 376 for victory, the visitors were bowled out for 197 in their second essay to hand the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in three-Test series.
“Any time you’re 100 runs behind in first innings even when you get early wickets in second innings they are still 150 runs ahead and we knew it would be tough on that wicket,” said Taylor at the post match press conference.
“In the hindsight it would have been nice to score a few more runs and if India were 3 for 40 and their lead wasn’t as much, any time you are playing catch up from that far behind.
“There is a lot of what ifs, we could go through every session. At the end of the day we were beaten by a better side,” he added.
New Zealand lost the second Test with a day to spare with seven of their batsmen getting out in the last session of the fourth day.
Describing the hot and humid condition of Kolkata as one of the toughest, Taylor said: “Definitely up with hottest Test series I’ve been part of. A lot of their bowlers and batsmen were tired too. Pretty hot and humid. (Virat) Kohli says cooler in Indore so I’m happy.”
Taylor said Wriddhiman Saha’s gritty half-centuries in both innings pushed the Kiwis on to the back foot.
“Winning key moments was important. The way Saha came out in both innings when the game was in balance, those two 50s put us on the back foot,” said Taylor about the Indian wicketkeeper’s innings of 54 and 58.
Taylor, who stood in for Kane Williamson after the regular skipper got ill on the eve of the second Test, hoped his team played some fearless cricket in Indore to end the series with some pride.
“376 was always tough (to chase) but the bowlers fought throughout and that’s something we can take to Indore. Hopefully, we can play some fear-free cricket to put India under pressure.”
Taylor said their pace attack was definitely a positive point and added that the spinners’ (Mitchell Santner and Jeetan Patel) performance was a welcome sign ahead of the Indore Test.
“Jeets coming in wasn’t easy after only being in the country for a day and a half. To bowl as well as he did in that first innings and score some valuable runs,” he said.
