Ecstatic after clinching an unbeatable lead in the ongoing Test series against the West Indies, India captain Virat Kohli hails Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 5-33 first innings bowling effort in St Lucia win
Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Gros Islet: Ecstatic after clinching an unbeatable lead in the ongoing Test series against the West Indies, Indian captain Virat Kohli said his team will now play with more ‘positive intent’ in the fourth and final Test starting August 18.
India’s captain Virat Kohli gestures as he leaves the field after defeating West Indies at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet on Saturday. Pic/PTI,AP
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India achieved a historic feat of winning two Tests for the first time in the Caribbean Islands by demolishing a listless West Indies in the third cricket match with a huge 237-run margin to clinch an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-game series here. Having lost an entire day to rain, it was a superb effort by the bowling unit that saw them bundle out West Indies for 108 in 47.3 overs while chasing a stiff victory target of 346 in 87 overs on Saturday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
This is the first time in over six decades that India has won more than one Test match in the Caribbean islands. The previous three series victories — 1971, 2006 and 2011 have been by an identical 1-0 margin.
"The team is feeling really good, especially because we didn’t have a day of play in Jamaica and fifth day was really testing for us. We didn’t get the result we wanted. Here also we played two good days of Test cricket, then lost Day Three, but again on Day Four bowlers came back and executed what we wanted to," said Kohli after the day’s play.
"Bhuvneshwar Kumar was amazing in the afternoon, and picking up 5 wickets for 28 runs on that pitch in 24 overs was a great spell. That really changed things around for us. Not to forget the first innings, where the way Wriddhiman Saha and R Ashwin batted was really top-class Test cricket as well," he added.
Three changes
The visitors had made three changes for this match, and while they were reduced to 130-5, it worked out fine in the end as things came together on day five.
"Very few people like change. This team doesn’t think how others would react or what they might say. We put out a combination that’s best according to the pitch. When I came at No.3 many people asked why I did it, but I am not fixated by my batting spot," Kohli said.
"If the team needs, I can open the batting too because that’s the rule applicable to everyone in the team," he added.
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