Internet Desk: India skipper Virat Kohli said the hardness of the ball in the middle session was one of the key factors that India couldn’t force a win in the third Test against the Aussies at Ranchi.
“When the ball was new last night, it spun well off the rough. Even this morning, it was spinning well. It was a bit in the middle session, the ball was not hard, so could not generate that kind of pace from the wicket.
“On day five, wicket slows down, we took new ball later and got a couple of wickets. But the hardness of the ball in the middle session was a factor.”
Kohli described Cheteshwar Pujara as priceless and also hailed Wriddhiman Saha and Ravindra Jadeja in equal measure as the trio put them in a winning position in the drawn third cricket Test today.
“Sometimes I feel really bad for him that people don’t understand his importance in this team so much. You know what a valuable player he is for us. He is the most composed player we have in the team. He is willing to grind for his runs, he does not mind batting under pressure, he likes to take the challenge of batting long. Someone like that is priceless to have in the team,” the skipper told reporters at the postmatch news conference.
Man of the match Pujara batted a record 525 minutes in his 202 as he along with Wriddhiman Saha’s career best 117 was the cornerstone of India’s gaining a 152-run first innings lead.
“In pressure situation, he always puts his hand up and plays long for the team and hold up one end, which I think ia a great quality. This season he has been outstanding. He has contributed throughout.
“He’s not being spoken about or being in the focus too much but I think he deserves much more than that. People need to take notice of what he has done this season. He’s been outstanding with the bat and I hope he can continue until the last Test.”
Showering praise on the wicketkeeper batsman Saha, Kohli said he’s willing to do anything for the team.
“Saha’s knock was brilliant for us. He always stood up for us whenever the team needed him. This game was no different. His partnership with Pujara was the reason why we could have a go at winning the Test. A lot of credit goes to him also.
Kohli also felt that Saha is not spoken much about like Pujara as they deserve a lot of accolades.
“Again not being mentioned too much, but he deserves a lot of credit. He is one guy who is willing to do anything for the team wherever we asked him to bat he bats. He has no problems in batting, after or before Ashwin.
“He plays any kind of role be it positive, defensive. He never says no. You really feel glad for a guy like him. He’s willing to do anything for the team and put his best foot forward. I’m really happy that he performed in a big pressure match in a difficult situation.”
India had another star performer in Ravindra Jadeja who returned with nine wickets and also contributed with the bat with a 54 not out.
“He really stood apart among the bowlers. Jadeja was outstanding, his economy on this wicket is impressive. He proved why he is joint number one bowler.
“Whenever Jadeja came to bowl, he picked up a wicket or two every three-four overs. We wanted to give Jadeja a longer go. He was hitting the roughs consistently. It was always attacking the batsmen.”
“It was very difficult to change him at that stage because he was bowling in good momentum. That was one of the factors.”
Asked whether Ashwin was under bowled, he said: “There’s no problem as such. You obviously want to choose ends. The fast bowlers from the far end, were more effective and the spinners were more effective from the commentary end.”
Peter Handscomb slammed a magnificent 72 not out under pressure as he along with Shaun Marsh (53) put together 124 runs for the fifth wicket to eke out a draw in what could have been an innings defeat.
Aussie skipper Steve Smith said the draw has brought the momentum back on them but Kohli said it’s individual perception and they would like to focus on their strengths.
“In the first innings, it was not easy for the bowlers because the pitch was good for batting in the first two innings.
“In the second innings, they really batted well to draw the match. After their 451, we were 328/6, from there to score 600 was very difficult. We put ourselves in a winning position, it was a great effort to be there.
“But again, if you are playing against number two side, you expect they’d also fight back, and won’t just give away their wickets.
“It’s a matter of individual perception. We’re happy where we positioned after them after the first innings, did not have to play the second innings. They were playing for a draw. They’d notice their positives. One match left, both sides would give their best,” he said as both teams now head to Dharamsala for the final Test from March 25.
Kohli went on to hail the Aussie batting for their rearguard action.
“I don’t want to take away any credit from them, because they batted really well. They were four down at lunch, credit to them that they did not lose another wicket in the following session. We’re happy with our effort.”
Kohli further hinted that Mohammed Shami after his spirited performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final today may return for the final Test.
“We sent him to play and wanted to give him match practice. I’ve not spoken to selectors but all kinds of possibility approaching the next Test.”
Asked whether he would like to change his approach and bat long in Tests like Pujara he said: “I would love to bat that long. Everyone has different style of batting. I would not change mine. You learn and understand a lot of things from different players all over.
“Everyone has their own strengths. If the situation demands you to play 300 balls and score 50-60 runs you obviously want to put in the effort and go for a draw. Different situations demand you to play differently. Given an ideal situation of a first innings scenario, I would not change my game at all.”
With inputs from PTI.