India vs England 1st Test: Virat Kohli was trying to influence umpire, feels THIS English cricketer

India skipper Virat Kohli (left) with vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane. (Source: Twitter)

Former English cricketer David Lloyd did not seem too impressed with India skipper Virat Kohli’s tactics to build pressure on the visitors on Monday at Chennai during the first Test. Lloyd reckoned Kohli was appealing like a manic. The Englishman also accused the India captain of trying to influence the umpires in the middle.   

“He was appealing manically on the fourth day and called for two shocking reviews in the middle session. The commentators said he was trying to lift his team. I reckon he was trying to influence the umpires,” Llyod wrote in his coloumn for the DailyMail.  

Lloyd also reckoned that it is the high stakes on the match and the searing heat that got the better of the players.  “We saw it after India had spent 190 overs in the field and now we’ve seen it with England. Opening the batting is as tough as it gets after you’ve been fielding that long in searing heat,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Kohli-led India will resume the massive 420-run chase with Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara in the middle. The hosts have already lost Rohit Sharma and posted 39/1 at Stumps on Day 4. The Gill-Pujara duo will play a crucial role to set up the game for hosts on the final day. India will also need Virat Kohli to get back to his best to keep their hopes alive in the game. Meanwhile, England captain Joe Root will bank on his spin duo Jack Leach and Dom Bess to contain Indian innings. 

The visitors chose to bat instead enforcing follow-on after getting a 241-run lead and were bowled out for 178 an hour before stumps, baffling many by their refusal to declare. 

“Sir Alastair Cook, as a recent captain, summed up the dilemma of the declaration terrifically well on Channel 4. England will know that people watching, pundits and media will be shouting ‘declare, declare, declare’ but they will do it their way. 

“They are the ones who will face the consequences if they get it wrong and time will tell if they were right. If you're asking me I would have pulled out once the lead got to 400,” Lloyd wrote.