MS Dhoni signed and gifted Kohli the match ball at Cuttack as memorabilia

After India defeated England by 15 runs at Cuttack in the second ODI to win the three-match ODI series, MS Dhoni signed the match ball and gave it to Virat Kohli as a memorabilia for his first series win as the captain of the side.

“MS gave me the match ball in the second game. The stumps are too expensive nowadays, and they don’t allow us to take it home (smiles). He gave me the ball and told me that it was my first series win as captain and it is memorable. It was a special moment for me and I got the ball signed from him as well,” Kohli told BCCI.tv.

Despite the close loss in the final ODI at Kolkata, India were fairly dominant in the three-match series, and Kohli picked out Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav, who won the man of the series award, as the biggest positives for the team. He said, “It has been a series of finds, character-building, people expressing themselves and not worrying about the number of games they have played. The team has showed character and intent of being smart cricketers, winning games for the country.

“There is no better feeling and I feel that the guys have really encashed the opportunity wonderfully and delivered every time we have been under the pump. Especially youngsters stepping up with special mentions to Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya, the way they have performed in the series has been outstanding. Everyone has contributed throughout the series and that’s the hallmark of a good team,” Kohli said.