Ind vs Aus: We haven't started with Virat Kohli yet, says Lehmann

Melbourne Not the least bit annoyed with Virat Kohlis aggression both on and off the field Australian cricket coach Darren Lehmann said the home side is liking the charged up atmosphere created by the newlyappointed Indian captainKohli will lead the side in the fourth and final in Sydney starting January 6 after Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced a shock retirement from Test cricket after the drawn third Test here yesterday India have conceded an unassailable 20 lead to Australia in the fourmatch rubberVirat Kohli exchanging words with Mitchell Johnson L Pic Getty ImagesWhen asked if the Aussies had elicited a similar response from Kohli in Melbourne as the Indians got from Mitchell Johnson in Brisbane after sledging him the Lehmann teased Oh we havent even started with Virat Kohli yet After the laughter died down he added in a serious tone It has been an interesting series As long as it stays on the field though we dont mind In fact we are happy that both sides are going to play hard cricket It is pleasing from an Australian point of view because that is how we want to play But we also want to leave it on the field and not bring it outsideWhat transpired was between Kohli and Mitchell Johnson As long as there are 90 overs bowled in a day and the players stay focussed on the game these things can go on The series is being played in a tough competitive spirit and I am fine with it he added Lehmann then brushed off any criticism of his teams late declaration on day five of the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket GroundThe hosts had declared their innings closed at 3189 at lunch and set India a target of 384 runs in 70 overs for victory The visitors finished at 1746 with Dhoni holding fort at stumps We won the series didnt we That was pretty important on the day for us But were we really defensive Or were India defensive with their tactics They had five men on the fence instead of letting us score and declare quickly and getting on with chasing the game said the coachIndia didnt even take the new ball We would have definitely taken the new ball They had a lot of fielders on the fence and we could only score 12 runs per over Thats not what we would have done in that situation Thats not how we play But it is not my team Lehmann addedAustralia declared at the stroke of lunch bringing about a sudden rush in the batting approach of Shaun Marsh and he ended up getting runout on 99 runs Lehmann confirmed that Indias batting strength was one of the factors in the decision to declare He played beautifully on day five and even better on day four India bowled very well and kept us under check They were reversing the ball a lot and set us back a little bit Marsh batted well with Ryan Harris and help us set up the game he saidThey are a very good side They would have chased whatever target we gave them and Steve Smith was very confident that they would go for what we gave them And I agreed with him Look they changed their batting order to do that yesterday and played some aggressive cricket But in the end we drove the game because they havent taken 20 wickets in any match in the series so far he addedTalking about his teams young skipper the coach was full of praise for Steve Smith Steve chatted with me the same about the declaration like Michael Clarke would have done I am a firm believer in that captain should make the decision In the end we needed 2030 more overs to get the win But we lost the game in the first innings when we dropped all those catches and Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane then went on to get big hundreds But the captain made the right decisionLook we had to wait a bit in the morning session because of rain On a pitch like this which doesnt have a lot of wear and tear for bowlers on the fifth day you need reverse swing If we had declared and the ball would have got wet because of rain it would have affected the reverse swing We definitely didnt want to bowl with a wet ball That was also a consideration Lehmann saidHe has been excellent It was tough taking over from someone like Clarke from our point of view But he has reacted very well as a young leader He has made runs and dealt with situations in a tough time he addedWhile the last Test in Sydney will usher in a new era for India Australia will be playing at the ground where Phillip Hughes fell to a bouncer It will mark a return of emotion to their dressing room and as yet the coach was not sure how to deal with itI dont really know how they will react I guess we will find out when we get there this week The good thing is that the boys are involved in a contest at the moment so they should be fine I think In Adelaide they were very quiet So a couple days off now should help and then we will try to get through this situation when we come to it The best for us is to get on with cricket and do the best we can on the field Lehmann signed off