Ravi Shastri credits Virat Kohli for the historic series win

The head coach of the Indian team Ravi Shastri has showered praises on the skipper Virat Kohli after registering the historic series win over South Africa in their own den. The visitors cantered to a victory in the sixth and final ODI on the back of a stupendous ton from Kohli and sealed the series by 5-1. They completely dominated the home side and exposed their frailties ahead of the World Cup next year. However, Shastri feels that the intensity shown by the team on the field is all due to their captain who always leads from the front.

Kohli deserves all the accolades as he has taken his game to a completely different level. He accumulated a staggering 558 runs in six matches which is an all-time record in a bilateral series let alone in South Africa. He just toyed with South African bowlers in Centurion and shepherded yet another chase for his country. Kohli is already being touted as the greatest ever to have played the ODI format of the game by some of the former cricketers and the Indian coach isn’t denying the fact either.

He is the best batsman in the world

Ravi Shastri was effusive while talking about Virat Kohli in the post-match conference on Friday. He labelled him as the best batsman going around in the world right now. “It’s not just about averages, it is the way you get runs, when you get it, and the impact those runs have on what the team does. I would simply say he is the best batsman in the world now,” he said. Shastri also pointed out that the leader of the pack infuses the intensity into the other players and Kohli is doing the same.

“You spoke of intensity. Where does the intensity come from? When you have a leader like that, who leads by example, the other guys jolly well follow. Otherwise, they know what to expect. That’s the beauty about this team on this trip where I feel proud as a coach about my boys and the intensity they showed,” he added while feeling proud of the achievement of the Men in Blue.

The 55-year-old also loved the way the team turned the tables on the hosts after being 0-2 down in the Test series. They’ve lost only single international game (Pink ODI) since then and won six matches. “Even after being two-zero down in the Test series, for them to show that kind of character to come back and win that Test match in Johannesburg on a spiteful pitch. And to then take that momentum into the one-day series and show the consistency they have shown over the last two weeks is fabulous,” Shastri concluded.

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