Relishing the prospect of having 'bounce and carry' for the quick bowlers on St. Lucia surface through the five days, India Test skipper Virat Kohli believes that the pitch at Gros Islet for the third match against the West Indies will be result oriented.
"I had a look at the pitch yesterday. It looks pretty similar to Antigua. Even grass covering. The surface should harden up," Kohli said during a press conference on the eve of the third Test. "I think they didn't have too much time to water it and roll it because of the rain. But it should become pretty hard. We've known this wicket to have a lot of bounce and carry. That's a good sign for the bowlers. All five days you have chance to pick up wickets. It doesn't slow down too much, which is a very good sign and looks like a wicket where a result is very much possible."
Despite the drawn second match, India are still leading the four-match series 1-0 and will go to top of the ICC Test rankings if they win the two remaining games.
Admitting that the final day of the second Test was a learning curve for his bowlers, the 27-year-old captain said that his side would take out the positives from that outcome and would apply going forward in the series.
Commenting on India's opening combination conundrum, Kohli said that he is yet to take a call on it while pointing out that all three openers are playing well.
The competition has become more fierce among the three openers especially after KL Rahul scored a stupendous century in Jamaica in the absence of first-choice opener Murali Vijay, who was ruled out of the second Test due to a thumb injury.
"We need to look at the balance of the side. Good thing is all three openers are playing well. Bad thing is that you can only choose two between three. That is a call we need to take as management. We'll sit down today and do that. These things are not in your hands, getting injured when playing well. That's why they say injuries can really upset people and bring them down. The good thing is Vijay has been in a good head-space. He's back to the nets and back to fielding. We'll take a call on that. We still have to discuss that," he said.