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Home > Sports News > Cricket News > Article > India in top gear with or without Kohli

India in top gear, with or without Kohli

Updated on: 25 March,2017 08:07 AM IST  | 
Ashwin Ferro | ashwin.ferro@mid-day.com

A captain is only as good as his team, they say. So, when the captain is injured and not contributing much, like Virat Kohli at the moment, then the others in the team become all the more important. Kohli realises this and admitted it in the pre-match press conference yesterday

India in top gear, with or without Kohli

Team India in a training session


Dharamsala: A captain is only as good as his team, they say. So, when the captain is injured and not contributing much, like Virat Kohli at the moment, then the others in the team become all the more important. Kohli realises this and admitted it in the pre-match press conference yesterday.


“I’ve not done anything special so far, but still the guys have fought it out and that shows why we are the No. 1 team in the world. I am really delighted to see how the guys have stood up in difficult situations and batted through for the team,” said Kohli. He went on to name his key men for the final Test.


In the batting department, opener KL Rahul has been consistent with his numbers -- a 64 in the first innings on the unplayable Pune surface was followed up with two half tons (51 and 90) in Bangalore and a 67 in Ranchi. Cheteshwar Pujara has done exceedingly well too, with a finely-crafted 202 in the third Test in Ranchi coming on the back of an arduous 92 in the second essay of the Bangalore Test.

Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has just one half century (52) in the second essay in Bangalore, but his ability to lead from the front in Kohli’s brief absence through injury has stood out. Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha stole the show with a timely 117 in Ranchi and complemented it with some proficient glovework throughout the series. And finally, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who came into his own with five wickets in Pune followed by seven in Bangalore and nine in Ranchi. Kohli spoke on his top five: “Pujara has been outstanding, Saha has contributed really well in Ranchi. Ajinkya was really good in Bangalore. Jadeja has been a revelation again in this series. I thought he could not bowl more consistently but he has proven me wrong again. Rahul has come into his own too. As I said, there are so many positives to take away from this series.”

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