What is Virat Kohlis intent?
If MS Dhoni was mentally wedded to process, Virat Kohli is in a monogamous relationship with intent. Google throws up 3,82,000 results of the Kohli-intent combo. Unsurprisingly, it cropped up again after his team lost the World Test Championship final. The crux was, in his own words, this: The mindset has to be to score runs and find ways to score runs. You cant be too worried about getting out because youre bringing the bowler into the game completely and not moving the game forward  Thats probably the only thing we need to focus.  And he littered the chat with lack of intent as the main reason. READ | Need to bring in right people with right mindset: Kohli hints at overhaul of Test side  If anything, the batsmen did show intent and did try to take the game forward. On the first overcast day, they ensured they didnt get stuck at the crease. Post the infamous 36 all out in Adelaide, this unit has been willing to extend themselves. Most Indian batsmen stood outside the crease, even moved further forward, yet managed to hold shape, as they tried to combat the English conditions. In the second innings, most tried to play the situation. Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara didnt last long on the final day for us to fret about the intent of either. Nope. He just didnt pick up Tim Southees signature special three-quarter-seam ball. It happens with him. In white-ball cricket, he hasnt always picked the googly from the hand. Nope, he seemed baffled that it wasnt the normal in-cutter but released like an off-break. Cheteshwar Pujaras best performances have been defined by the intent of his own. (AP/FILE) Cheteshwar Pujaras best performances have been defined by the intent of his own. (AP/FILE)  He has had other issues in the last few games  his technique surgically probed by Australias Pat Cummins  but he played the conditions perfectly well in the first evening of this Test and the situation adequately in the fifth evening. Its clear that his best performances for India over the years  in Australia and elsewhere  has been defined by the intent of his own. When he did what he does in the way he wants. One can ask for meatier contributions of course but to dictate his style of play especially in a team filled with attackers is silly and self-destructive. What he needs to do is to find a way as Kane Williamson did in both innings  hang in, settle, and work the angles. Which is what Pujara has been doing for years until the recent stumble. His strike rate is almost 45 to Williamsons 51. Considering it was a long boundary, a full-blooded pull also doesnt come with the guarantee that it would clear the boundary patrollers. On a good day for New Zealand, the @bookingcom Best Wickets is dominated by Blackcaps. Or when he switched to aggression and in the process looked like an actor mimicking himself as many Bollywood stars do. Nope, he had been sucked into it by a classy set-up from Kyle Jamieson. His back foot got stuck, his hips misaligned and he got squared up in the second innings. He was forced to play around the front pad in the first innings. The bowlers target him with full-length straighteners or nip-backers after a series of back-of-length stuff. The problem is his slow weight transfer to the front foot. Structurally, his game is built for the on-the-up or back-foot punches; he rarely leans into his drives. One could see him trying to suss out ways to do the course correction without upsetting his innate strength. Batting issues  There are issues with this batting unit, sure. A few of them could find themselves in hot water if they dont perform in the five-Test series against England. Its a crucial series for Gill; if he can sort out the weight-transfer issue, great; else by the end of the series pressure  external and possibly internal  might creep up. Pujara has to find a way out of the recent dip; with the help of then coach Anil Kumble, he was able to ward off the intent pressure last time around. He has to find a way again to score runs and score big. The Williamson template is a good place to start but that mode would need the captains confidence. At Southampton, Rahane looked almost as good as he has ever been in English conditions. He averages 29.26 here as opposed to a career average of 41. The 103 at Lords in 2014, a counter-attacking special on a green track, is right up there among his best but he has had issues after that. Without a good forward stride, he hasnt been able to trust his defence in these conditions as much as he would have liked. And when in trouble, either due to the match situation or personal technical issues, he always prefers to counter-attack. Rohit Sharma has looked very impressive  the recent version is probably the tightest technique among right-handed openers in world cricket right now  and it does seem big runs are just around the corner. Much would also depend on the pitches that England serve up. The curators intent might well be the difference in the end. The thing with intent is one can fit anything with it. Like Kohli has done in the past. This, from three years ago: Intent doesnt really mean that you have to go out there and start playing shots from ball one. The intent is there in a leave. Intent is there in defending as well. Intent is about being vocal out there in calling. Just the way your body language, the way you are thinking about the game. It gets portrayed in your body language. People can tell if you are playing with intent or not, he had said. People can tell. The problem with that is once suggestions are dropped into the head, people can tell and hear things they dont normally see or hear. A Chinese whisper can spread like a virus. Players can also listen and start self-doubting or turn more stubborn in their ways  and both can lead to self-destruction. This is a team that has reached the final of the championship after an era-defining triumph in Australia; this is not the time to sow doubts.