Virat Kohli’s decision to bowl a rational one, says R Ashwin

Virat Kohli’s decision to bowl first turned out to be brave and rational at the end of the day, admitted R. Ashwin, who along with Ravindra Jadeja tormented the South Africans on the opening day of second Test on Saturday.

“I don’t know, now it seems so at least. I think the wicket was a little damp, that’s the feel we got initially so we wanted to bowl first and see what we could extract out of it. Even the first-class games played here generally the first day does a little bit. Taking all that into consideration, I think it was a rational decision,” said Ashwin, who scalped 4/70 to go with Jadeja’s 4-50.

With not much turn compared to the Mohali deck, Ashwin said that bowling on the Bengaluru track was trickier. “I don’t think there was enough on offer for the spinners. We were not beating the bat as often as we were doing in Mohali, but Jadeja was very, very good in the session after lunch, he was bottling one end up, which was precisely our plan and from there on they played a few false shots and brought us back into the game,” he explained.

Going into the second day, Ashwin hopes Indian batsmen can post a big total.

“The first session will be crucial, I guess, but we started pretty well. They have a paltry score on the board.” Meanwhile, rival coach Russell Domingo too was surprised with India’s decision to bowl first.

“Looking at their side. Three seamers. The history of the ground. We were surprised,” he said.

With AB de Villiers missing out on a century in his 100th Test, Domingo felt the RCB batman was unlucky. “(I’m) disappointed that he got out. He is always looking to score and that’s how he plays always. He was just unlucky to get out. The odd ball bounced,” he stated.

The South Africans bowlers are keen to exploit the first session looking for a breakthrough.

“We want to try and make some early in roads. We are long way behind in the game at the moment. But a good first session will get back us in the game,” he concluded.