MELBOURNE: India captain Virat Kohli on Sunday hailed his team's 137-run win over Australia in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG as a "collective effort" and applauded his bowling unit for delivering the goods, match after match.
Kohli lauded his bowlers for taking total ownership of their skill and responsibility for the team and disclosed that he hardly speaks at the bowlers' meeting. "I mostly listen to them as it's important to understand what they are thinking. At the end of the day, they are the ones running in with the ball, so they need to be confident with their fields, pitching (areas), pace off the pitch, delivering dot balls and picking wickets. The results are there for everyone to see," said Kohli, referring rich harvest reaped by Indian bowlers, especially the pacers this year.
In a first of sorts, Indian bowlers - led by the pace troika of Jasprit Bumrah (48 wickets), Mohammad Shami (47) and Ishant Sharma (41) - succeeded in bowling out rival teams twice in 12 of the 14 Tests they played in 2018. With Umesh Yadav (22), Hardik Pandya (13) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (10) also chipping in at crucial times, the Indian pacers aggregated 181 wickets - a huge effort that was acknowledged by the skipper.
Talking about the victory in Melbourne, Kohli said: "It was a collective effort. This victory is more special for the bowlers because they have been so tired, they bowled so many overs and even in this game they had to put in more effort because of the nature of the pitch… hats off to them."
Kohli revealed that the key to his bowlers' success is working in tandem and not trying to outdo one another. "If Bumrah is taking wickets, others are containing runs, or if someone is picking wickets, Bumrah does the containing job. It's same for Jadeja and Ashwin. When it comes together nicely, it gets you the desired results," he added.
The skipper reiterated the need to eat, sleep, dream and breathe cricket in order to win Test series overseas.
Kohli also spoke highly about the new opening pair. "Mayank's composure, intent and belief was a huge boost for us. The way he batted at the top of the order on the first day is praiseworthy because it is not easy to come to Australia and start like that against such a bowling attack. He should also get a lot of credit for the win."
Talking about the other opener Hanuma Vihari , Kohli said: "You might not think of Vihari's contribution being significant, but if you look at the fact that he played out 15 overs with the new ball in the first innings, it allowed Pujara and me to bat, and bat, and bat. We were not under pressure and could build a partnership. He was confident, and most importantly, did the job for the team."
