The 227-run loss to England in the opening Test is not just a blot on India’s proud record at home, it also jeopardises India’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

As things stand after Tuesday’s result, India will have to win the four-match series against England by a 2-1 or 3-1 margin if they are to book a place in the WTC final, scheduled to be held later this year. They are now fourth on the WTC table.

Captain Virat Kohli though is not losing sleep over it as he believes his team will be focusing only on the controllable and “playing good cricket”.

“Nothing changes for us,” Kohli said during a virtual media interaction after the Chennai Test loss.

The ICC cricket committee under Anil Kumble decided during the lockdown last year that the WTC league standings would be determined by the percentage of points (PCT) earned by teams.

Commenting on that, Kohli said: “If suddenly the rules can change when you are in lockdown, nothing is in your control at all. The only thing that you are in control of is what you do on the field.

“We aren’t bothered about the (WTC) table or things that are going on in the outside. For some of the things, there’s no logic and you can have debate for hours as much as you want, but the only thing you can control as a side to an extent is playing good cricket. And that’s our only focus regardless of who’s on top of the table.”

Kohli, however, said that his team is prepared for the “hard grind”.

“Before this Test match, we were not even thinking of England’s chances (of making the WTC final) and now suddenly we are talking about they being on top of the table. These things keep on changing all the time and you don’t play for these things.

“Our focus is to do the necessary hard work from hereon and go through the hard grind. We are prepared to do that,” Kohli emphasised.