Virat Kohli was trying to influence the umpires by appealing 'manically,' says former England cricketer

David Lloyd, cricketer-turned- commentator, has insisted that Indian captain Virat Kohli is feeling the pressure of leading the team in the ongoing Chennai Test and tried influencing the umpires by "appealing manically" on the fourth day of the game on Monday.

At stumps of Day four, India were 39 for 1 and still need 381 to win the first Test against England in Chennai. The Jor Root-led English side put up 578 and 178 runs in both the innings and also have dominated with the ball.

"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.

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," Lloyd wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.

India recently won the Border Gavaskar Trophy Down Under 2-1 under the captaincy of stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who had led the side after Kohli returned home on paternity leave. Lloyd, who scored over 19,000 runs and also picked 237 wickets in First-Class between 1965 and 1983, has also written that Kohli is now feeling the heat after Rahane recently showed incredible leadership in Australia.

"It hasn't gone unnoticed in India that Ajinkya Rahane led the side brilliantly in Australia and I reckon Virat Kohli is feeling the pressure," Lloyd wrote further.

'Draw is an option'

Meanwhile, former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta, who is a part of the commentary panel for the ongoing first Test between India and England at the MA Chidambaram, has insisted that an "a draw is the No. 1 option for me."

"It looks like a dust bowl. I made a point during the commentary that there are two ends, one is a dust bowl, the other one not as bad but it's firmer. From the firmer end the ball actually doing a lot more, not from the end where it is a complete dust bowl. Still, it's not a surface where you cannot bat for 90 overs. I think draw is still a very, very big option for me. It's the number one option as far as I see it now," Dasgupta added in an interview on Monday.

Warne slams Root's tactics

Earlier in the day, legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne took to Twitter and slammed Root's tactics in the underway Test, terming their game as "cautious and timid." According to Warne, England batted "too long" in the first innings and have missed a vital trick of winning the first Test by neither declaring soon nor scoring at a fast pace in their second innings.

The visitors batted for over two days in the first innngs, where he posted 578 runs. After bowling out India for 337 runs, Root did not enforce a follow on. While many would have expected England to score a quick fire 150-200 odd runs and put India to bat again, but that did not happen.

"What is going on with your cricket team ? What on Earth are they doing just letting the game drift," Warne tweeted to former English crickteer Michael Vaughan.

What is going on with your cricket team ? What on Earth are they doing just letting the game drift ? Why aren't they bowling ? England wouldn't want to not be able to bowl India out now after batting to long in both innings !! https://t.co/gfhjxyeGLr

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) February 8, 2021

.@MichaelVaughan In Australia India played courageous and brave cricket - was awesome to watch ! Australia played timid and cautious cricket & Australia lost the series. England are playing cautious and timid cricket...........

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) February 8, 2021

England's mindset is let's not lose this test match - rather than, what's the best way to win this test match and how many overs could we need ! This batting on decision is now putting a lot of pressure on England's bowlers and particularly their spinners !

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) February 8, 2021

India will resume play at 39 for 1 on Tuesday, with Shubman Gill and Chesteshwar Pujara at the crease on 15 and 12 respectively. The hosts lost Rohit Sharma (12 off 20) just before stumps on Day four.