JOIN US India have dominated the exhaustive home stretch of 13 Tests, but there were no signs of excitement on Virat Kohli’s face. The Indian captain was unusually sedate, and said he would flaunt a broader smile if they could repeat their performance in the upcoming overseas season.
“It is a classic case of understanding that this is not the end of anything. We are very happy with No. 1 ranking in the world, but our main challenge begins now. If we can conquer the overseas season, that’s when you will see a broader smile on my face when I sit down for the press conference,” Kohli told reporters on Tuesday.
Kohli showered praise on his fast bowlers. “When teams prepare only for your spinners and our fast bowlers come in and bowl those kind of spells, it can really shake the opposition and that’s exactly what these guys have been able to do.
“Seizing the momentum for the team has been outstanding on part of the fast bowlers. I just wouldn’t say Shami and Umesh but (also) Bhuvi (who when) given the opportunities has picked up five-fors. Ishant has been outstanding in West Indies, in Sri Lanka, whenever he has played. That’s probably been the one factor that has been the difference in our winning all these series compared to drawing a few games.”
Kohli believed the series could well be the start for KL Rahul as one of the best Indian openers. “He is probably not in focus too much, but to get six 50-plus scores, for an opener to be that consistent is tremendous. He’ll want to convert them into big runs but the impact he has had in this series, not giving early wickets to Australia, has been very very pleasing. You’ll certainly remember him for a long time in years to come with the innings he will play. I think this is where he will make a start as an international recognised opener, probably one of the best openers India has had.”