14th Dec, 2018
An epic series between India and England concluded with England winning the final Test by 118 runs, to clinch the series 4-1.
This Test series between the two sides was closely contested and was a great exhibition of the toughest format of the game.
The final day of the final Test was a display of character as we saw two well-deserved centuries from the likes of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Captain Virat Kohli gave credit to the two youngsters after their stupendous knocks.
“A lot of credit has to go to both those young guys, stepping up at such a difficult stage, three wickets down for two runs. Ajinkya Rahane got stuck in with KL but I think the way KL and Rishabh batted showed the kind of character that we’ve got in the team and the kind of cricket that we’ve played in the series.
“It might not show in the scoreline but both the sides know that it’s been a competitive series, it’s taken a lot out of both the sides, and it’s been something that we’ve really enjoyed. We’ve taken up the challenge head-on, and today was an example of two guys not giving up and actually entertaining the crowd. As I said, this is probably the revival of Test cricket again and shows people what it means to all of us, and for people watching as well, it’s a great advertisement for Test cricket.
“To be brutally honest, we didn’t speak about if we can win this game or not. The basic idea was to go out and play the game that we are known to play, whatever we feel confident about. When those two guys started hitting the ball well, we felt that there might be hope because those two were scoring runs freely and there were overs, but we knew England is a professional side, and they will tighten up things. We were just waiting and watching.
“Very quickly things can change in Test cricket and we realised that with KL falling and then Rishabh falling as well that the situation can become totally different within the span of two-three overs. That’s the beauty of this format as well. That’s to take nothing away from those two guys who showed heart, especially someone like Rishabh who’s new to Test cricket, he has shown a lot of grit and character.
Virat, who was named Man of the Series from India said that the team now needs to close out games after coming very close to the finish line. “KL’s been around for a while but this guy comes in and plays a knock like that when he’s not sure of how the few innings went before that. It tells us that we have character in the team, we just need more experience and how to close out situations. We have the belief in the team as well,” he concluded.
