Virat Kohli heaped huge praise on the collective efforts of his Indian side as they ran out victors at Trent Bridge to keep the Specsavers Test series alive.
The Indian captain was in fine form himself, striking his 23rd Test match century as the tourists’ batsmen fared better than their England counterparts.
With the series at 2-1 heading to The Ageas Bowl, Kohli has every faith in his side to turn the series around and make history.
“As a batting group we wanted to step up and back up the bowlers, something we haven’t managed to do in the first couple of matches,” said Kohli.
“They are a quality bowling attack and it was about having patience and not giving our wicket away.
“We dominated the game because of the runs we put on the board, allowing the likes of (Hardik) Pandya and (Jasprit) Bumrah to bowl like we know they can.
“The batsmen wanted to put the runs on the board and the bowling group was once again eager to take those 20 wickets.
“Personally, it feels good to contribute to the team scores but as a squad we’re not bothered who takes wickets or runs all we want to do is make an impact for the team.”
After a close encounter at Edgbaston, and two one-sided matches at Lord’s and Trent Bridge, the series is tantalisingly poised.
A number of question marks on fitness and form hang over both sides but India certainly go into the next match with the momentum.
“One of the most pleasing things for me is to see that the four fastest bowlers in the series are Indian,” said Kohli.
“We want the opposition to have to bat well to get runs and I’m really excited to see everyone taking responsibility at the right time.
“We definitely believe we can win the series if we continue to play like this.”
In the opposition dressing room, England are licking their wounds from a 203-run loss, in which a batting collapse once again put them on the back foot.
Captain Joe Root is adamant that the players can put it right in time for the next match and secure the series in the process.
“Our batting in that first innings was very poor,” said Root.
“The one thing to look at in this game is the partnership between Jos (Buttler) and Ben (Stokes) as it’s a great example for the rest of the batting group of how to bat in Test cricket.
“They are both very attack-minded players but they adapted to the situation well to be able to find a way to build a strong score in bowler friendly conditions.
“You can never question the character of this side and we are very good at bouncing back after a tough couple of days.
“We have a little time before the next game and I fully expect the lads to put this result right in Southampton.”
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Trent Bridge will stage the fourth Royal London One-Day International between England and Pakistan on Friday 17 May 2019. Register your interest for priority access to tickets here…