Lower order made outstanding contributions: Virat Kohli reflects on series win

Tags: England tour of India 2016 -17, India Vs England 5th Test at Chennai, Dec 16-20, 2016, India, England, Alastair Nathan Cook, Virat Kohli

Published on: Dec 20, 2016

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India came up with an emphatic bowling performance on the final day of the Chennai Test to clinch the series 4-0

India came up with an emphatic bowling performance on the final day of the Chennai Test to clinch the series 4-0. Speaking at the post match press conference, Indian skipper Virat Kohli heaped praise on the youngsters as well as the lower order batting, which bailed India out on numerous occasions in the series.

“The lower order has also made outstanding contributions. Every time when we were under the pump, we’ve fronted up,” said Kohli, who lost four tosses, and yet ended up winning as many Tests. “Yeah, we are proud of our performance. The toss and the pitch condition was out of equation. We conceded over 400 runs in England first innings but still ended up winning by an innings. That does not happen very often,” he added.

Kohli had an amazing time with the bat, amassing 655 runs with a hundred and a double hundred and it was no surprise that he was the man of the series. But, Kohli the leader decided to give credit to his team as a whole. He was all praise for the youngsters. “After already clinching the series 3-0, to come out and perform like this, it is the evidence of the character in the side. It was evident the way we batted, bowled. We wanted the youngsters to step up, someone like Lokesh Rahul, then Karun Nair, they came in after two Test matches. They got us to a position where there was only one winner,” Kohli stated.

On the Chennai Test result, Kohli explained, “It’s always a tricky position. England scored 477 then conceded a lead of 281. We understood that if we got a couple of wickets, it could slide pretty quickly. Jadeja did his job, picking up seven wickets, it was great to watch.”

Kohli further praised the present team culture and the atmosphere in the dressing room. “We worked hard day in, day out and we don’t care what happens outside. There is lot of respect among players in the changing room. That’s how we end up being in a winning position more often than not,” he went on to say.

Losing captain, England’s Alastair Cook, on the other hand, admitted that India completely dominated them, using the conditions to the hilt. He did not offer any excuses for the defeat. On the Chennai loss, he said. “No excuses, India were the better team and deserved to win. It was a very good fifth day wicket. We got ourselves in a good position at lunch but it wasn’t enough to get out. We dropped vital chances and India have been punishing us — it’s hard to stop the momentum.”

He was all praise for his counterpart Kohli. “Credit to Virat, they’ve outplayed us. Hard to say as a professional but they’ve been better,” he conceded.

On the reason for the defeat, Cook added, “It’s a series of missed opportunities and dropped catches have cost us. Not being able to score enough runs and take enough wickets. It’s a tough dressing room to be in, we tried as hard as we could but wasn’t good enough. Same for both sides, but momentum can go with you. It’s a tough place to come to.”

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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