India vs Australia | Super proud to have four bowlers take 20 wickets, says Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli was all smiles as he lavished praise on his bowling quartet who managed to take all 20 wickets across two innings as India registered a 31-run win in the series opener in Adelaide. Kohli also had positive words to say about Cheteshwar Pujara who kept India in the game on day one.
India secured a 31-run win in the opening Test match at the Adelaide Cricket Ground on Monday as they went 1-0 up in the four-match series against Australia. While Cheteshwar Pujara starred with the bat, it was the bowling quartet of Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin, who were the vital reason behind team India’s hard-fought win.
"You need to just stay calm. Odds were stacked against them. They fought really well but we executed our plans well and got that last wicket which
"Jasprit was getting worked up in his last over but I just told him to relax. Super proud to have four bowlers and take 20 wickets is a great achievement. Something that we haven't done in the past. Shows us that if the batsmen step up regularly, we will be gunning for a win in every Test match," revealed Kohli in a post-match interview.
The Indian skipper singled out Pujara’s performance for praise as Kohli gave the latter credit for keeping India in the game after a tricky start to the match on day one. Pujara was adjudged as man of the match after he scored 123 and 71 across both innings.
"Collectively we were the better team and deserved to win. Priceless from Pujara, we were down and out at lunch on day 1. His grit and determination brought us back in it. We always knew that runs on the board would make the home side tentative. Any lead was gold and we got 15. In the second innings again, he and Rahane batted well.
"I think our lower middle order and lower order could have done better. We could have added another 30-35 runs more which could have taken the game totally beyond Australia. So these are things that we have to think about going to Perth but if someone had told me before the series that I would be 1-0 up as soon we started the series, I would have taken it with both hands," Kohli added.