I have no excuses, I take the loss on the chin: Virat Kohli

India started the series as overwhelming favorites, at best Australia were expected to be able to secure a draw. A rank turner awaited at Pune but as it turns out the best can be beaten at home with just the right amount of hard work and application put together. Batting first was an advantage for Steve Smith and Co. but Virat Kohli has often in this home season said they don’t give a lot of importance to the toss.

Australia’s 260 and 258 was unmatched by India’s effort getting out under 110 in both the innings – a lot of credit for that goes to one man who wasn’t considered a real threat. Even the Aussies weren’t banking on Steve O’Keefe to pull off something of this sort but he did and stunned everyone even himself to an extent. With figures of 6/35 in either innings he gave the Indians no chance at all to get away in the Test match.

The hosts have been hurt bad losing the first match of the series by a massive 333-run margin would have dented their pride being the No.1 side and they will now want to make a strong comeback in Bangalore. In the post-match presentation, Virat accepted they were completely outplayed in all departments of the game right through the three days of this Test match.

“I would like to think so (whether it’s an anomaly). Really good run for us so far. We got outplayed in this game. No two ways about it. Australia were much better. We’ve got to take it on the chin. We never took them for granted. That’s probably our worst batting display in the last two years. It was a case of not applying ourselves. Have to sit down and think what we did wrong.” He said.

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In Virat’s view, it was their batting that let them down more than the bowling and that is where they would want to improve ahead of the next game. “Batting was more disappointing than the bowling. We know that Pune is generally low and slow. They exploited it better than us and bowled at a good pace. There was a lot of pressure created on us. They deserved to win this game. I think we did pretty well. If you don’t hold onto the chances, it’s tough to get back in the game.”

He accepted the defeat on the chin and wants to improve from here to get better results. “As I said, I have no excuses, I take the loss on the chin. Big learning Test for me too. Sometimes you want to do stuff as a captain but there’s only so much you can control.”

On Umesh Yadav’s bowling effort with the old ball, the skipper said, “He’s (Umesh) been working really hard for the past few months. He’s got good pace and he’s made good use of it in the past few months. He’s got stronger. When it reverses, he’s even more lethal.”

The Aussies skipper was elated by his team’s performance. They were certainly a proud bunch today, defeating India in India after 13 years is a huge achievement for this team that was termed the weakest to have landed in the subcontinent. Smith said: “It was gonna be hard work. A real grind. Really proud of how the boys have performed. Winning the toss was a bonus. Guys had good plans. 260 was a good total and bowlers backed us up. O’Keefe was outstanding throughout.”

“We’ve got some good players of spin in our squad. We’ve got a well-rounded squad. We thought if we had a bit of luck and played to our plans throughout, we’d be a reasonable show. I’m proud of this achievement. It’s been 4502 days since Australia won a Test in India, I know it to the day. Mitchell Starc’s batting in the first innings was important. To have a lead of 160 is massive on this wicket.

“Spinners were consistent and let the wicket do the natural variation bit. O’Keefe was disappointed with the way he started. Probably bowled a bit too full. But when he pulled his length back, he looked like taking a wicket every ball. He’s worked really hard for it.”

About his own batting and the second innings hundred Smith said, “I had a bit of luck, but to score a hundred on a second innings wicket like that took a lot of grit and determination. I was pleased that I was able to get the team to a good score.”

Steve O’Keefe was awarded man of the match for the best bowling figures by an Australian against India: “It’s a good feeling. The first innings was a bit of a blur. For myself, the ball tended to skid on more than spin and it exposed the stumps. We know how hard it is to win over here but we still have to do a bit of work if we have to win the series. I’ll remember the Hill End forever now. It was great to have the belief of the captain who backed me after my first six overs.”

“Lyon bowled brilliantly as well. Our batters have been working very hard to not get beaten on the inside. I’ve enjoyed all my experience in India so far. The crowd’s been very nice. Looking forward to Bangalore, a very beautiful place again. Looking forward to the challenges.” O’Keefe said.

Coach Darren Lehmann was excited as well, with the way his team responded after what happened in Sri Lanka earlier in the season. “Great result for us. Good all-round performance. It was going to be a challenge for both sides. For us, it was about putting to practice what he had worked on. Had a great preparation in Dubai. But it’s only one Test. Challenge is to replicate in Bangalore.

“O’Keefe did really well. Jadeja was tough. He probably spun it too much. O’Keefe got his length right especially when he changed ends. It was a great innings from Smith. The way he played was very special. That hour on Day 1 when him and Hazlewood put on 50 runs changed the momentum. The pitch will change for Bangalore. We’ll prepare accordingly.” Lehmann said.

He might have not had the number of wickets his partner got but the off-spinner Nathan Lyon bowled really well to keep the Indian batsmen under the pump at all times. He ended the game with 5 wickets but bowled superb lines and that helped them edge past the Indian batsmen who are considered among the best against this form of bowling.

Lyon said: “We learnt a lot four years ago. Credit to our coaches and our captain. Plan was to compete hard. We certainly did that. Very happy for Steve O’Keefe. Watched a lot of videos of Ashwin. He’s a world class bowler. Tried to replicate what he does here. It’s only one Test. We know they’re a world class side and we know they’ll come back hard. Don’t think we’ve won a Test here since 2008 (sic). It’s incredible. I’ll take this pitch with me everywhere.”