India vs Australia | Virat Kohli praises Cheteshwar Pujara after MCG win
After winning the Boxing Day Test, Virat Kohli has hailed Cheteshwar Pujara for his flexibility in batting and the changes that he has made. The Indian skipper also lauded the efforts of Mayank Agarwal at the top of the batting line-up as he scored a fifty in his maiden appearance for India.
Although the Man of the Match award after the third Test in Melbourne went to Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian skipper did speak a lot about Pujara and his batting during the post-match press conference. The Saurashtra batsman had a troubled outing in Australia in
"Pujara has been a lot more flexible in altering his game very quickly. From the last time he played in Australia, he has made a few changes to his set-up, and that's working for him. He is embracing the fact that if something has been told to him and he has to work on those things, he has worked on it," Kohli said during the media interaction, reported PTI.
"And now that we have the bowling attack that we can rely on to get us 20 wickets, his role becomes even more crucial. If he can bat time and hold one end, and all the other batsmen can bat positively around him, we get 350, touching 400, in conditions in Australia, which puts us in a great position to get a result. He (Pujara) realises that even more now. Because of the bowling attack that we have, his job is to hold one end and bat for long hours so that we have a great opportunity to get big runs and put them out of the game. I think that confidence is because of them (bowlers), and he is embracing that very well."
India has won two Tests in a single series in Australia after a long wait of 41 years and has an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series. Kohli highlighted the ‘obsession’ of winning Test matches away from home.
"If you want to win a series away from home, it (there) has to be an obsession. And once you are obsessed, changing your decisions according to opinions is not an option at all. Instinctively, everyone like I said, you have a gut feeling of playing a shot or bowling a particular ball. And inside if you feel good about doing something in a particular Test match, you should just follow that," the Indian skipper said.
"You can't change for someone else. I think that's been the most important factor for us. That we haven't changed our mindset regardless of who said what, and at the end of the day your belief is what matters because you are out there competing. Hats off to the whole team for sticking together and believing in themselves and being obsessed about getting results.”
After a brilliant domestic season and a good run with the India A side, Mayank Agarwal was picked into the team and he did well to score a half-century in the first innings. Kohli expressed his happiness after Mayank’s innings during the media interaction.
"Mayank's contribution was also special. His composure, his intent and belief, it was a huge boost for us. The way he batted at top of the order on
India and Australia will meet at the SCG for the final Test match and the visitors will go into the game thinking of a historic Test win on the Australian soil. Considering Sydney being traditionally a spinner friendly wicket, India might go with two specialist spinners. Ravichandran Ashwin had been out of the team for the Boxing Day Test due to injury and is expected to return in the next game.
"It depends on the nature of the pitch. I think Ashwin's very close to being match-fit. He's been bowling a lot of overs and I'm sure these next four days will make him even stronger. So regardless of it being the last Test match, he will be willing to push himself and start for the team. But again it depends on what kind of pitch we get in Sydney," Kohli concluded.
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