A Test Of Skill And Character For Kohli & Co.

The India captain is confident that his batsmen would be upto the task

- S. Dinakar

Virat Kohli and his men face a searching examination of skill and character as the first Test, beginning on Friday, approaches.

There is grass on this Basin Reserve surface and the New Zealand pacemen will be relentless in their quest for scalps.

However, Neil Wagner, that battering ram, who hustles batsmen with well-directed short-pitched bowling, could miss the first Test since he is awaiting the birth of his child. Matt Henry has been called in as a cover for Wagner.

Kohli was confident that his batsmen would be upto the task. The Indian skipper was also gung-ho about his own pace pack where Ishant Sharma appears to have put fitness troubles behind.

The Indian captain said, “He looked pretty similar to how he was bowling before the ankle injury and was hitting good areas. Really good to see him bowling with pace. He has the experience too.”

Tactically flexible

The Indian team, Kohli said, would be tactically flexible. “We are going to look to adapt to what’s in front of us rather than having a set template.”