Wellington: Indian captain Virat Kohli has exhorted his batsmen to shun ultra-defensive approach heading into the must-win second Test against New Zealand, saying it "never pays off" on overseas tours.
India were thrashed by 10 wickets in the opening Test at the Basin Reverse, failing to go past 200 in both their innings on seam-friendly conditions.
"I think the language we use as a batting unit, that has to be correct. I don't think being cautious or wary will help because you might stop playing your shots," Kohli said after the loss.
In the second innings, the technically sound Cheteshwar Pujara consumed 81 balls for his 11 runs and Hanuma Vihari made 15 off 79, as the batting unit failed to generate any momentum.
Pujara, at one point, went 28 balls without a run, forcing Mayank Agarwal into playing loose shots and perish.
Not running the singles and waiting for a good ball that has "your wicket" written all over it is unacceptable to the India skipper. "You will start doubting that if even singles are not coming in those conditions, what will you do? You are just waiting for when that good ball will come and you will be
dismissed.