India learn the value of the dead bat

"Maybe in the last session we can score around 200 runs, we can go for it. May be an interesting game ahead"

That was M Vijay after the fourth day in the Rajkot Test. His crystal ball wasn't entirely off. India needed 261 runs in a minimum of 31 overs in its final two hours of play. And some of the shots the batsmen used did not entirely suggest they like scrapping around.

It can be pleasing to know that the team you support does not give up despite mounting odds. It can be uplifting, as is the case in India, who have had occasion to envy their opponents showing off such resolve to win matches. And it has been the case more often than not with Virat Kohli at the helm. All that's needed to understand how he has moulded the side in his image is to look at India. Lean, mean and steadfastly avoiding the shaving cream.

But a different kind of skill was required at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Ground. The skill of saving a Test match. India haven't had to do such a thing at home since 2012.

On Sunday, everything they would dish out to the opposition was stacked against them. Gentlemen, we'll start you off with some stiflingly hot scoreboard pressure, then a rich assortment of spin with a side of all the peppy close-in fielders and, oh, look your goose is cooked.

India didn't have too long to survive. A minimum of 49 overs. They were up against a set of spinners who were playing their first Test in this country. Kohli and his men shouldn't have cut it so close.

That they did was possibly because they didn't have much experience batting time. It requires good technique and a great trust in it. You have to pick the ball out of the hand, read the length as early as possible, go forward or back with purpose and use your hands to adjust if the bounce is variable. A few boundaries help. And yes, it never quite seems like such a grocery list out in the middle. So the fact that India drew a match with only five batsmen - a match they had chased all five days - was quite commendable and a very important step in their evolution.

Of course, it was not without incident. On the final day, even a decent pitch would break up with the batsman and blatantly show off its love for the bowler. Rajkot was particularly fiendish. There was one delivery from left-arm spinner Zafar Ansari that pitched on a good length and reared away past Virat Kohli's head, prompting the Indian captain to insist it be called one bouncer for the over.

In such circumstances, you have to either trust your defence or resort to something that you know would be equally effective. Something that has worked for you before. Your natural game. Kohli is a vociferous proponent of it. Only, blindly following it has some risk.

Ajinkya Rahane tried to cut Moeen Ali against the turn and was bowled off the pad. India had less than two hours to survive and that wicket meant England were through to the allrounders. R Ashwin, who has grown into the batsman he always threatened to be and who was instrumental in securing the draw, bashed three fours in the over before he spooned a catch to cover - one of few fielders on the off side. Had either batsman been a bit more prudent, the Test would have had a smoother and earlier finish.

But that is how India play now. Given the choice, they prefer to be aggressive.

"When things get heated out there when there's a lot of pressure on the batsman, it's very important to have the intent of scoring runs," Kohli said. "Because as an opposition you know that the ball is going to go to the boundary as well, you got to take more time to recover it. The bowlers panic, the opposition panics, the captain panics. At the same time, the score keeps ticking as well.

"So that was the whole idea - to have the intent to score runs also, because that way you're looking forward to playing the ball, you're nicely on top of the ball, your head is on top of the ball. If you're only looking to defend, sometimes your weight can be back and if the ball is turning even a little bit, the close in fielders come into play. So it was very important to keep intent onto the ball to control it better with your hands. That was the whole idea about being a bit positive as well."

Kohli was excellent in balancing between attack and defence, and was the prime reason England couldn't upset India. His footwork was precise and his concentration was such that he was often ready for the bowler while he was still walking back to his mark. While there was the odd whip against the turn, it was his ability to keep the good balls out and remain unbeaten that determined India's eventual position of safety.

There seems to be a growing tendency to think that playing defensively is a sign of weakness.

Michael Atherton played one of the greatest innings in the history of the game to save a Test for England away from home. Facing spin on a final-day track in India is no more cumbersome than having to make peace with becoming target practice for a frothing Allan Donald armed with the Wanderers' bounce for nearly 11 hours. AB de Villiers, this generation's most versatile batsman, felt confident about his game only after he perfected the block. The longest innings anyone has ever played in Tests was to draw a game from a hopeless situation, Hanif Mohammed, the man who was responsible for it, was called the Little Master.

Their exploits and many more suggest the dead bat isn't a nuisance in cricket. It's the essence of it.