The energy was there to be seen on the field as India began preparations for the 2nd Test against Australia in Bengaluru. Batting stints at the nets went about with seriousness, the bowlers gave it their all and there were a few intense catching drills. Catching has been one of the major talking points in India’s loss in the first Test. India opener M Vijay assured of a better show in the second Test. “We had a chat about it and we are working on areas where we could do much better. We are looking forward to this game and hopefully we can pull off those catches.”
Like captain Virat Kohli, even Vijay decided to look at the lone positive from the 1st Test loss. “It was a great performance from our bowlers to bowl them out 260 and give us (batsmen) a chance to put up a big total. But it didn’t happen and I thought we didn’t apply ourselves well. Till the time, Rahul was playing we had hopes of getting closer to their total. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. To be honest Australia played well in the second innings as well.
Elaborating further, he said, “It was more about the mindset. We gave away a first innings lead more than what we had expected. From there on it was always going to be tough for us to get into the game. We had the opportunities and had we grabbed those, we could have put pressure on Australia. Unfortunately, we didn’t and we have got to take it on the chin and move forward. Hopefully, we can come in with a better frame of mind and start with a positive frame of mind from ball one.”
With a 1-0 lead in the series, Australia clearly seem to have an upper hand going into the second Test. Vijay though differed. “I don’t think the momentum has shifted towards Australia. We have accepted the fact and now we want to move forward. We are eager to start fresh and put the pressure back on the Australians. It is a good test of character for our team and it is going to be a good challenge for us. Hopefully we can play the way we have to play and the way we have played before.”
