'We are going to have plans to him to try and stop him scoring... Once he gets in, it's hard to get him out.'
Having suffered a crushing loss in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, England's bowlers are working on plans to dismiss India's captain and batting mainstay Virat Kohli early, in the third Test match, starting in Mohali, on Saturday.
After escaping with a draw in the first match in Rajkot, India scripted a resounding 246-run win over England in the second Test to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
While skipper Virat Kohli's aggregate of 248 runs (167 and 81) laid the cornerstone of victory, the contribution of India's premier all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin (52 runs and match figures of eight for 119) was equally significant.
England all-rounder Chris Woakes, who impressed with his bowling in the opening Test, feels it is crucial to dismiss Kohli early.
The Indian captain has been in superb form this year, having scored 897 runs in nine Tests in 2016, including two double-centuries.
Speaking about Kohli's performance in the previous Test, Woakes said, "Kohli scored lot of those runs, Pujara has also scored. Kohli has scored majority of runs, particularly in that second Test match. So, we are going to have plans to him to try and stop him scoring... Once he gets in, it's hard to get him out."
Despite the humiliating loss, Woakes feels that all is not lost for the visitors and they could still make a comeback in the series. "Although we have lost that last Test match, we felt that we have played some good cricket on this tour barring a session maybe".
On missing the services of their fast bowling spearhead Stuart Broad for the Mohali Test, Woakes said, "Obviously, it will be a huge loss if Stuart doesn't play..he is a world class bowler, he has been there for a long period of time. He has showed how good he is in one spell he bowled, I think it was one of the morning sessions, the last Test match."
Image: India captain Virat Kohli
Photograph: BCCI
