Kohli admits selection has been off, tells batsmen to keep it simple

India captain Virat Kohli conceded that team combination was "a bit off" in the lost second Test against England and urged his struggling batsmen to "keep it simple" in the head to save the ongoing series.

"I think we got the combination a bit off before the game. We have a chance to correct that next game. (At) Two-nil down the only option is to come out positive, make it 2-1 and make it an exciting series from there," Kohli said after the team lost by an innings and 159 runs to be 0-2 down in the five-match series.

India could only make 107 and 130 in the second Test and will need to avoid a loss in the third game -- due to start on August 18 in Nottingham -- to stay alive.

Kohli reiterated that his batsmen's problem is more mental than technical.

"I don't see any technical deficiency. If a batsman is clear in the head and he's clear about the plans he's taking, then if the ball does something off the pitch, you're able to counter it," said Kohli at the post-match media interaction.

"If my head's clouded then I feel like the ball can do this, or that, or even that. You know there are three-four scenarios that run in your head. It sounds cliche but as the greats have said, keep this game simple, that's all you have to do. You can't come here and think the conditions are too difficult because they are really not if you're prepared to counter them.

The weather also did not favour India, who batted in overcast conditions while England scored their runs in bright sunshine on day three.

"A lot of people are talking about the conditions, that we batted during a difficult time. On the day that was good, we had to bowl. And again, today was overcast and we had to bat. If we think about these things, we won't be able to plan for the future.

"There is nothing to be gained from thinking about what has happened and thinking what if. Going ahead in this series, we need to look at the mistakes we've made in this game and correct them. A sportsman has no other options," felt the captain.

Bowlers did well in the series opener but were not consistent enough at Lord's, he said.

"You can't control the toss or the weather. We didn't play good cricket in this game. We bowled well in the beginning but didn't hit our areas consistently. We didn't get enough chances in the field to miss any, but with bat and ball we could have done much better than we did."
"It's very difficult to pinpoint anyone. All we have to do is gear up for the next game, come out positive and not think about that I've done well...It's all about making the team win, and doing anything that we can to make that happen."
"What we did in this game we should definitely be better than that. I'm the first one to come out and accept that because unless you accept your mistake you can't improve on it. Because this is the first time in the last 5 Tests that we've been really outplayed."