Exactly 8,199 km separate Kerala and the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground but all that distance couldn’t stop Virat Kohli from remembering the flood-ravaged state after his side completed a 203-run drubbing of the England side.
”First and foremost, we as a team want to dedicate the victory to the flood victims back home in Kerala. People are going through a lot, and this is the least we can do,” said the Indian captain as quoted by The Indian Express. India now has kept the series alive with two more matches to go.
The 29-year old Kohli was unsurprisingly given the man of the match award for his scores of 97 and 103 which helped India maintain a tight grip on the game. It was an all-round effort from the visitors who were better than England in all the three departments. A notable improvement that India saw was in the batting department where the likes of vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara shouldered more responsibility. Both Rahane and Pujara have been very crucial figures in the success of the Indian Test team and Kohli looked happy at the way they proved themselves.
“Very crucial how Rahane played, having lost Puji just before lunch. He’s very positive, we love that about him. ..He can change the whole complexion of the game, and that’s what he did. They’re a quality bowling attack and you need grit to score against them, and that’s what Jinx in the first innings and Puji in the second showed,’ he said.
The fast bowling department of the Indian team has been one of the biggest positives for the number one ranked Test side, so far in the series. From, Hardik Pandya’s game-changing figures of (5/28) in the first innings to Bumrah’s fiery spell (5/85) in the second innings, the fast bowlers have ticked all the boxes and would play a decisive role for the team in the next two matches.
“We’ve worked on our fitness, on our mindset, cutting down on loose deliveries,” he said. “They’re getting better and better the more Test cricket they’ve played. It’s a delight to watch when they’re running in. We definitely believe we can [win the series]. It wouldn’t be 2-1 now if we didn’t believe that. We just want to keep pushing forward and keep wanting to win,” added Kohli.