India fought back in the third test to eke out a 203 runs victory against Joe Root men at the home of Robin Hood- Nottingham. Virat Kohli first impressed one and all by notching 200 runs in third test and then won the hearts of the people by dedicating the win to the people of Kerala, affected by the deadly floods.
Kohli said “We, as a team, want to dedicate this win to the flood victims in Kerala,”.
“This is our bit we can do as the Indian cricket team. A tough time there. The victory was much-needed in this series and in context, and to have been clinical in all departments is a victory for the entire dressing room. A complete Test for us.
We dominated the game because we put runs on the board- Kohli
“There was no panic, and we were outplayed in only one game out of the last 5, and that was Lord’s. We dominated in this game because we put runs on the board and then the bowlers did well, they were waiting and ready, even Ashwin did well with his injury.
Indian pacers took 19 wickets and 1 wicket went to Ravichandran Ashwin
“The bowling group was ready to take 20 wickets again, and I’m glad the batsmen stepped up. So we, as batsmen, did well to give them a cushion for the bowlers to go hard. Even the slips did well, and this mix of all skills couldn’t have come at a better time.
Talking about his partnership with Ajinkya Rahane
“The partnership between me and Ajinkya was crucial if you look back at the Test. Ajinkya was clear in his mindset in the first innings, and when he goes out and plays like that, he is attractive to watch and he can change the complexion of the game. It was about getting stuck and not throwing our wickets away. They’re a quality attack and you need grit and determination to score against them, and Ajinkya did that in the first innings and Pujara in the 2nd.
Dedicating the personal milestone to wife Anushka Sharma
“I haven’t thought about the 2014 failures, but I’d like to dedicate this to my wife who is here and keeps motivating me. She’s copped a lot in the past but she deserves the credit for this one. The four fastest bowlers in the series have been Indians and we’re proud of our fitness levels. We want the opposition to bat well and get runs and we don’t want to gift them any, we want to get rid of loose balls.
“They’re getting into that kind of a mindset and getting Test runs should be difficult. We definitely believe we can come back from 0-2 to 3-2, we just need to keep moving forward, keep winning. We wouldn’t be 2-1 if we didn’t believe. The respect and the belief in the change room is important, and one must keep wanting to win. We need to bring out the impact performances in the next two Tests as well.
