Still believe India are No 1, says Kohli after thrashing
41 defeat only justifies why India are one of the worst tourists to England
the guys that are responding well in different situations, and all those sort of things you learn as a captain, and you observe a lot of things as well. That is how you keep improving as a side.”
‘DID NOT GIVE UP’
“Lot of teams in the past have basically given up, but we did not. We do not think like people on the outside, I say time and again. This kind of series actually shows you exactly what the character of individuals is. I see that as an opportunity, not as adversity.
“When you keep winning all the time, a lot of things are swept under the carpet. You don’t realise the faults you have to work on. I certainly haven’t played my cricket that way.
“And I don’t see any series like that. They haven’t been tough at all because of the kind of cricket we played. I know people conveniently choose not to look at that but that is not us.
“We do not look at this series as something that makes us think we can’t play in overseas conditions. Of course, we can play, but can we capitalise on the important moments better than the opposition?
“At the moment, no, we haven’t done that, but in future, we want to do that, and that is the only way we win series.
Indian fast bowling
Finally, India can boast of their own pace quartet -- one that’s equally efficient in all conditions with all kinds of cricket balls. They’ve not just managed to take 20 wickets consistently but also, have ensured that hosts are wary of dishing out green-tops. Indian fast bowling is no longer inferior to the bowling departments of SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries.
Pant, Rahul and Vihari Even though the last Test match was a dead rubber and India still lost, there were few positives to build on. In
Rishabh Pant,
India might have found a wicket-keeper batsman who’s capable of
Pick the right XI
This theme has been consistent right from India’s tour to South Africa. The axing of Rahane in the first two Tests in South Africa, dropping Pujara at Edgbaston, playing Kuldeep Yadav and not an extra seamer at Lord’s, not considering an extra spinner at Southampton, continuous backing of Hardik Pandya and Shikhar Dhawan and not so much the rest are few of the choices that merit revisiting. Looking back at where you faltered is a sound way of avoiding the same stumbling blocks in the future. There’s a lot going for this Indian team and it has the ingredients to become the best Indian Test team but it’s also a fact that they are not there yet. And it’s only fair to be honest with the man in
the mirror.