The scoreline of the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy will read Australia 2-0 India. But it won’t be a fair reflection of the way the series was fought. As the fourth Test in Sydney approached a tense climax, Virat Kohli sat in the dressing room, applauding every ball that Ajinkya Rahane and Bhuvneshwar Kumar survived as the Australians surrounded them with fielders in search of the three wickets they needed to win.
In the end, the duo made it through and India managed to salvage a draw on a wicket that was turning, had uneven bounce and the Aussie pacers were getting the ball to reverse. He was, no doubt, satisfied with the effort.
“It’s been very satisfying to see people like Ajinkya, Rahul, Vijay and Rohit in this game stepping up the right time and showing a lot of character and composure to go out there and make runs against very good bowling,” Virat said.
“They bowled quite well and on the spot. We had to play good shots to score runs. The wicket was not easy to bat but the guys stood there, dug it out and pulled out a draw. It is satisfying.”
While Virat took the draw as the eventual result, it was not his initial thought. Even as the conditions were tough for batting, Virat said there were times when he did go for the win.
“The first intention was to go for the target, but we didn’t get the kind of momentum we maintained throughout in Adelaide,” he said. “Because of the way the Australians bowled in this innings, we were not able to keep up with the run-rate.
“Once Vijay got out, it was a matter of not thinking too much about going for it or going for a draw but just batting out there and just reacting to every ball.”
Virat was extremely proud of the way India kept fighting throughout the series and made the Australians work hard for their win.
“It was a feeling where you know you have actually forced the opposition to earn their victory if they are that good for five days,” Virat said. “You are not just throwing in the towel and getting beaten in four days. We took them to the end on three occasions, two were draws and one was a loss that could have gone either way. I’m really, really proud of the way the guys have played in this series,” he said.
While there were a lot of positives for India, the fact remains that their bowling was incapable of taking 20 wickets in a Test match. Virat said his bowlers can take a leaf out of their Aussie counterparts in terms of being consistent.
“We certainly do have negatives we want to improve on. At the international level there is a lot for us to improve on as a Test side, especially seeing the way the Australians bowl,” Virat said. “I think that’s something we need to learn from them big time to be honest.
“If we can improve on that we’re going to be a very strong Test team moving forward. When we get more composure and improve on a few areas, you will see us cashing in on those important moments.
Virat asked for more character and desire from his fast bowlers.
“We have generally done well in ODIs because the bowlers know how many overs they have to bowl in what time span. In Tests you need composure because you are not sure whether you are going to bowl 25 or 15 overs in the day. A bad spell of five overs can change the momentum of the game.
“It is important for a bowler to have a vision in Test cricket as to how he will set the batsman up and get him out. One must have a desire to keep coming for five days. Bowlers will get tired in a Test match and in the end what matters is who has the character to come back for a second and third spell despite being tired and pick wickets. That is where Test matches are won. We will try to improve on that.
“It is very important to figure out where you have to bowl to which batsman and run in and pitch the ball six times on the same spot. Only then can a captain set the right fields and set the batsman up. That consistency is something we really need to work on.
“The main task now would be to scout out the guys we feel along with these fast bowlers have the potential to play in the future. Then groom them, nurture them, monitor their fitness, skills and consistency. That’s how we want to develop our Test team for the future,” Virat said.
Virat was particularly impressed with the young debutant batsman, KL Rahul, who, after a nightmarish debut at the MCG, fought his way back to score a gritty century in Sydney in the first innings. Rahul said that it helped him that he opened the batting in Sydney, as opposed to batting at No. 6 in Melbourne.
“I thought it wasn’t fair to make a guy who is in the squad as the third opener bat at No. 6, because he has a certain game and likes to play in a certain way,” Virat said. “We felt we could give Rahul a chance in this game and I wanted to make him open because he was very confident and composed in the nets.
“He showed a lot of character in the match against a very good bowling attack. He got his maiden Test hundred in Australia. I know how it feels and I am sure it is very special for him. It was lovely to see the way he stepped up for the team under scoreboard pressure,” he said.
However, Virat refused to commit about Rahul’s permanent position in the batting order.
“We sat down and discussed what the best batting order would be for us to win the Test. It can be very flexible. You might not see me batting at No. 4 all the time. It depends on what the team needs for a particular series. I am really happy to see both Rahul and Rohit get runs in the positions we wanted them to bat at.”
