While the new Test venue Optus Stadium (Perth) is set to debut with the top bouncy track, Indian skipper Virat Kohli is excited to face it due to having a suitable bowling attack in the side.

Leading the four-match Test series by 1-0 after winning the first Test at Adelaide by 31 runs, the hosts Australia and the visitors India are now focusing the second Test at the Optus Stadium. The curator has already confirmed that they are trying to make it a bounciest track and Indian skipper Virat Kohli claimed they are not nervous about it. Rather than, Kohli is excited to face this lively pitch while the bowlers are in a great form.

Prior to the second Test, Kohli said on Thursday, “We certainly get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches. We understand that we have a bowling attack that can bowl out the opposition now. When you have four, five bowlers at the peak of their ability, it is always a great feeling to have that in the side.

“As a captain, I am just grateful that these guys are at their peak time right now and it is helping Indian cricket. The way they have bowled in the last three tours, it is amazing. They are hungry for wickets and are not giving easy runs and I am sure it is very exciting for those who are watching us play.”

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However, Kohli doesn’t want to take the credit for evolving the Indian cricket team as one of the top-class bowling sides at present.

The skipper added, “Look to be honest I haven’t gone scouting for them, they have been playing for a while and it is just that these five have come into their own when I was the captain. So I am not going to sit here and take credit for unleashing someone.”

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Speaking on the pace and bouncy tracks, Kohli feels that there are no favourites in these kinds of pitches as it generally offers a balanced cricket for every side.

Kohli said, “Look we are not alien to pitches like these and we have played on them in the past and this is nothing new for us. We know what to expect on a pitch like this and as I said on a lively wicket where there is grass on the pitch and the surface being hard, you are as much as in the game as the opposition. And there are no favourites, whichever team plays well and whichever team is brave enough to tackle these conditions wins on tough wickets.”

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Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun is also happy to see the lively pitch at the Optus Stadium and hopes that there is no more grass taken off.

Sharing the same confidence like Kohli, Arun told, “I was pretty happy to see the pitch the way it is. I hope no more grass is taken off it. That would mean that the first three days would be very lively. We as a team are pretty happy with that. We just have to challenge ourselves as a batting unit and play positively and back the bowlers to do what they did at Adelaide as well.”