Team India’s head coach Ravi Shastri literally hailed the Indian skipper Virat Kohli while talking to Sky Sports, after the conclusion of the third Test of the 5-match series in Nottingham. He bracketed Kohli alongside Sachin Tendulkar, for his hunger and ability to visualize match situations while batting after the captain gave a strong statement by scoring around 450 runs in the series already and negating the demons of 2014. He scored his 23d Test century at Trent Bridge and scored 200 runs in the match.
Talking to the interviewer Michael Atherton, Shastri said, “He is very passionate about the game. He loves batting, he loves to do the hard yards. His work ethics are second to none. I haven’t seen any cricketer, I’ll put Tendulkar in it as well, in the way he visualizes situations. I promise you, he will forget these two innings now and take guard again as if he hasn’t scored a run in the series.”
Kohli has been continuing the purple patch in his batting form from past two years or so and again it helped India to register a 203-run victory at Trent Bridge. He got some apt support from Ajinkya Rahane in the first innings and Cheteshwar Pujara in the second, who found their mojo back. If the batting performance was the cake, then the marked improvement in slip catching and fifers from Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah was the cherry on it which completed one of the most clinical performances of the Indian cricket team against Virat Kohli’s captaincy.
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The head coach elaborated, “What we demanded from the boys, was accountability. We knew we were close to beating England, despite the results, despite being 0-2 down. I said at the press conference that there wasn’t a negative bone in the team and I mean it. We came out here to win this Test match, it’s about applying yourself. It’s about executing your plans in the best possible method and they did it magnificently. As a batting unit, bowling unit and more importantly, as a catching unit.”
Praising the improvements of the team, Ravi said, “[The catching was] terrific because they realize now that they have a potent pace attack and if you have to support the pace bowlers, you need to take your catches. If you do that, they get the wickets and you stay on the ground lesser. Emphasis has been on fielding. If you look at the ODI side, it has been the best fielding side India has had, ever. Idea is to get the Test side also in same frame of mind as well.”
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India is standing at the numero uno position in the current ICC Test team rankings and it was their second Test win outside the Indian sub-continent of 2018, which is a feat they’d achieved on only eight previous occasions but there remains a sense of underachievement given the team’s current pool of bowlers capable of taking 20 wickets in each and every game. In the 6 Test matches India had played in 2018 so far, the Indian bowling attack has taken 106 wickets this year and barring the Lord’s Test they have bundled out the opposition team in both the innings of the remaining 5 Tests.
Describing the same, Shastri concluded, “This is the best fast bowling group by a mile. If you look, the two potent fast bowlers for English conditions were Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah, they didn’t play in the ODIs at all and in the first couple of Tests, yet to play together. Then you have Ishant and Shami bowling beautifully with Umesh waiting in the wings. It’s a conscious effort from this side to be the best traveling side in the world. We want to win away from home. We have won a Test match, not yet won the series but we there are two Test matches to go.”
