King Kohli reigns over Australians
VIRAT KOHLI hailed the “proudest moment” of his career as India ended a 71-year wait for a Test series victory in Australia yesterday.
Their 2-1 triumph was finally confirmed when the rain-affected fourth and final Test ended in a draw at Sydney Cricket Ground early in the afternoon.
The finale may ultimately have turned out to be a damp squib but Kohli’s tourists utterly dominated what action there was to deservedly become the first side from the Asian sub-continent to take the honours Down Under.
“It’s obviously a very proud moment. More so because for the last 12 months we understand what we have gone through as a team,” said Indian captain Kohli, 30. “The fact that the reward has come in the most historic series for Indian cricket is the cherry on the top of the cake.
“In the 10 years that I have played, it is the proudest moment that I have experienced and we’re so happy for the whole team. It is a young bunch of guys and to have that belief to keep striving for excellence on a daily basis.”
Coach Ravi
Shastri said:
“This is an
Indian team that will jump over a cliff to win a game for their country.
“That’s the determination and the ruthlessness, the mindset with which this team went out to play in this series.”
Wins in the first Test in Adelaide and third in Melbourne ensured they could not lose the series and their batsmen, led by 193 from Cheteshwar Pujara, batted Australia out of the fourth match with a daunting 622-7 declared in the first innings.
The hosts were duly dismissed for 300 and Kohli did not hesitate to go for the jugular by enforcing the follow-on – the first time in 30 years Australia had suffered such ignominy on home soil.
The weather saved Australia from a 3-1 humiliation with no play possible after tea on day four, when they had mustered six runs without loss in their second innings.
For some Australians the series will always carry an asterisk given their two best batsmen, Steve Smith and David Warner, were unavailable because of bans they received for the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa last year.
It is the cherry on top of the cake