Virat Kohli: Long season gives India chance to hold onto No. 1 spot

Skipper Virat Kohli exults after Team India won the 2nd Test match against New Zealand at Eden Garden in Kolkata on MondayPicPTIKolkata Having reclaimed the world No 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings a beaming Indian captain Virat Kohli on Monday said that the team has a good chance of holding onto the numero uno position given the long home seasonIndia dislodged Pakistan from the top following their 178run win over New Zealand at Eden Gardens which gave them an unassailable 20 lead in the threematch series Our objective is to keep playing consistent cricket having rankings and getting to number one and dropping it is not in our hands but with this long season its in our control in my opinion Kohli said at the postmatch presentation ceremonyLauding the allround performance by his side Kohli said runs scored by the lowerorder batsmen spearheaded by Man of the Match Wriddhiman Saha proved to be crucial Those extra runs in the end and Saha Bhuvi and Shami contributing in the end was crucial Saha was brilliant hes the best keeper in the country hes doing a great job in Test cricket That hundred in West Indies really improved his confidence he understands how to bat with the tail nowThe India skipper also had some words of appreciation for the Eden Gardens pitch Lovely Test match a brilliant Test wicket apart from the variable bounce here and there it will get better andbetterBatting colleague Rohit Sharma who topscored in the second innings with 82 also came in for praise from Kohli First innings we understood we threw it away with a few loose shots second innings the New Zealand bowlers really put us under pressure Really happy for Rohit as well stuck itout handled the pressure really well and you know his love affair with EdenMore than anything the crowd helped us pick up those wickets today Especially someone like Shami running in it makes a big difference to a bowlers mindsetNew Zealands standin skipper Ross Taylor also laudedthe wicket which he said the team was not expecting Very impressive the way the bowlers got stuck in hot humid conditions we put India under pressure but credit to them for withstanding it with Saha contributing in both innings Taylor saidTo be honest we thought the pitch would be different A good cricket wicket its just been relaid and is going to get better and betterIndia took a crucial firstinnings lead of a little over hundred runs which tilted the game in the home teams favourNew Zealand tried to fight back by sending back three Indian batsmen quickly in their second innings but Rohit and Saha stood firmI guess anytime you have a 112run deficit yourealways under pressure We got some early wickets but the partnership between Saha and Rohit took it away from us I thought Tom Latham was outstanding today Never been to Indore venue for third Test before it will be interesting to see what the wicket will be likeTaylor hoped regular captain Kane Williamson who missed the game owing to illness would be back for the third and final Test Good to see Kane Williamson at the ground today still abit pale but knowing him hell be back in the nets tomorrowSaha said he was under no pressure playing in front of the home crowd Im very happy for winning the series and getting my first man of the match Saha saidMy teammates and the crowd supported me a lot Not much pressure Im just going in to bat defending the good balls rotating the strike and putting the bad ball away to the boundary The West Indies hundred boosted my confidence but I didnt score much in Kanpur thats why I took my time in the initial few balls I just did my job behind the stumps nothing much I just keep watching the ball till the last and soft hands thats itSeamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar who picked up a fivewicket haul to give his team the upper hand on day two said In India we generally dont get these kinds of wickets When you get one you just try to make the most of it When you contribute to a win its something special for youThanks to physio and trainer they worked hard with me on ankle injury Shami is the most lazy person in the team but when hes on the field he always gives it 100 per cent Its a sweet victory because you dont generally get these sorts of wickets in India which help seamers