Indian skipper Virat Kohli becomes the latest player to critic about the SG Test ball which was used in the first Test against England in Chennai.
Earlier, Ravichandran Ashwin echoed the same of it and called it ‘bizarre’.
“This game, the ball was pretty bizarre for us, because I’ve never seen an SG ball tear through the seam like that before. It could well be a combination of how hard the pitch was the first two days. Even in the second innings after the 35th-40th over, the seam started to peel off. It was quite…it was bizarre. I haven’t seen an SG ball like that in the last, so many years,” said Ashwin.
Team India is hugely unhappy with the ball, as threads coming apart even before 60 overs were bowled.
However, Kohli didn’t want to use the ball as an excuse and praised England for their impressive victory in Chennai.
With the latest defeat India slips to fourth rank in the ICC World Test Championship table.
“The quality of the ball, honestly as well, wasn’t something that we were very pleased to see. Because that’s been an issue in the past as well – just for the ball’s seam to be completely destroyed in 60 overs is not something that you experience as a Test side and something that any Test side could be prepared for.”
However, Kohli didn’t want to use the ball as an excuse and praised England for their impressive victory in Chennai.
“But that was the reality of the first two days, but having said that, (the ball is) not an excuse – England played better cricket than us and deserved to win,” added Virat Kohli.
To find place in the finals host has to manage to win the series by 2-1 or 3-1.
With India going behind in the series, Virat Kohli and his men would be keen to make a comeback in the second Test which starts on 14th February in Chennai.