Captain Virat Kohli and pacer Jasprit Bumrah both gave credit to first-class cricket after India’s 137-run win over Australia in the third Test at Melbourne on Sunday, 30 December.
This comes on the heels of Australian commentator Kerry O’Keefe receiving backlash for saying that Mayank Agarwal’s triple hundred in the Ranji Trophy came against some team like ‘Canteen XI’, where the bowlers were some chefs and waiters.
“Our first-class cricket is amazing, which is why we won. Credit must go to first-class set-up in India, which challenges our fast bowlers in India, and that helps them abroad”.Virat Kohli, Indian Captain
Player of the Match, Jasprit Bumrah, crediting India's first-class set-up in making him a better bowler, said “My aim is to always focus on consistency. We train very hard and we are used to bowling a lot of overs in Ranji Cricket, so the body is doing well. My focus is on the next test now”.
Bumrah capped off a memorable debut year in Test cricket with a match haul of 9 for 86 in the third Test against Australia at Melbourne, that the visitors won by 137 runs.
In just nine Tests (all overseas), the 25-year-old has picked up 48 wickets, including three five-wicket hauls in all three countries – England, South Africa and now Australia – he has played in.
Having only gotten better since his debut in South Africa in January this year, Bumrah is hopeful that better things await him in near future.
"It was always a dream to play Test cricket and I was really happy when I debuted in South Africa. I started learning slowly, in England it was a different experience. Coming to Australia has been a different experience as well. The start has been good, and hopefully, I will keep getting better," the bowler said.
‘Won’t Stop Here’: Virat Kohli
After the win, Jasprit Bumrah's skipper was confident that his men won't take their feet off the pedal and would win the series 3-1. India captain Virat Kohli has drawn level with Sourav Ganguly on 11 overseas Test wins – most by an Indian captain.
“We are not going to stop here. This (win) will give us more confidence and we will play more positively in Sydney. I think we have been really smart in all the departments in the two matches that we have won. That is the reason we have at least retained the trophy but job is not done yet. It’s not finished at all. We want to win the last Test match as well, if an opportunity comes our way. We don’t want to be complacent. We are all but ready for the final Test match.”Virat Kohli, Indian Captain
‘I Feel Proud as a Captain’
Kohli also praised the Indian bowlers with a special mention of Bumrah, who was named of the Man of the Match at Melbourne.
"We knew that it would be tough for Australia, but credit to our bowlers, especially Jasprit. The three fast bowlers have broken the record for most wickets by pacers in a calendar year for a team, which is brilliant," Kohli was all praise for his speed merchants.
“I certainly feel proud as a captain when they bowl in partnerships. No one is looking to out-bowl each other.Virat Kohli, Indian Captain
There was a bit of a scare when the morning session was lost due to rain but Kohli said that he was not bothered about talks of not enforcing the follow-on.
"It's a good thing that I don't read any comments or what the opinions are. What matters is what we decide inside the dressing room as a team unit. We were pretty clear that we wanted to bat third on this pitch and wanted to get more runs as the pitch was only getting worse.
"I always felt the pitch had enough for the bowlers and a score around 400 will be extremely tough for Australia to chase down," the skipper said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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