Virat Kohli buoyed by young performers

Sport360 staff 17:19 20/12/2016
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  • Virat Kohli speaking after the match.

    Virat Kohli couldn’t have hoped for a better 2016. Everything he has touched has turned to gold, whether it be his captaincy or his batting.

    The year has ended very well on the cricketing front for the Indian skipper, with India producing an outstanding display to defeat England by an innings and 75 runs in the fifth and final Test of the series.

    What pleased Kohli most about the performance was how the lesser experienced players like KL Rahul and Karun Nair stepped up when the senior batsmen weren’t at their best.

    “We wanted the youngsters to do well. KL had a good domestic season but didn’t have a great outing and then comes and almost gets a double century. Karun didn’t have two good Tests and then does this,” said Kohli.

    In India, tosses generally play a big part in deciding a match as the pitch tends to get worse for batting as the game and wicket wears. But against England, India lost four tosses out of five and still managed to win three of those four games.

    Kohli mentioned that one of India’s biggest strengths is their self-belief and selflessness, playing down the importance of guessing the coin flip correctly.

    “Toss and pitches were out of the equation. We were up against big totals and we won by an innings. That doesn’t happen too often in Tests. We work hard everyday and believe in us,” he said.

    “We don’t care about what’s happening outside, what matters is what each one of us thinks about the other. There’s a lot of respect and friendship in the dressing room and it’s evident on the field. Nobody is playing for himself.”

    The performances of  India’s seam bowlers were also something that made Kohli a very proud Indian captain.

    “Our pace was quicker than their’s, even the consistency was better, and it was very proud moment for me as an Indian captain, seeing the fast bowlers stepping it on. Kudos to the hard work they have put in in the past few months,” Kohli added.

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