India vs Eng 3rd Test: Virat Kohli loves challenge and competition, says Jos Buttler

India and England provided an intense spectacle on day five of the second Test as players from both sides engaged in verbals and in the end, it was Virat Kohli’s team that emerged triumphant in an engaging match.

England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler has said that it is a privilege for him to be competing in the middle against India skipper Virat Kohli. The first Test ended in a draw but India staged an incredible comeback to take the second game by 151 runs at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. Both sides will now lock horns in the third Test, beginning Wednesday (August 25) at Headingley, Leeds. “I think it is obvious that the rest of us need to step up and give Joe Root more support. This year, in particular, he always bats well, but he seems to be in the form of his life. He has had an amazing start to the series and hopefully, that can continue and the rest of us can improve our game to give him more support. We certainly do not want to create more pressure on Joe’s shoulders. As a unit, we need to stand up to the level we can,” said Buttler during an interaction. Asked whether he could have helped skipper Root in cutting short the bumper tactic at Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in the second Test, Buttler said: “Yeah, potentially. Sometimes when you have a bowler who can bowl incredibly fast as Mark Wood does against the lower order, it can be to intimidate the lower-order batsmen. We thought it was a good option, obviously, it did not work for us and that was disappointing. But still, I think it can be a good tactic at times and we will try to get our tactics spot on going forward.”