Viart Kohli - We have created a bit of history

Viart Kohli – We have created a bit of history: Virat Kohli was unsurprisingly jubilant and delighted at India’s historic series triumph over Sri Lanka. He minced no words in praising the boys and said that the result was a culmination of their hard work over the past few years. With the win India have also jumped to fifth place ahead of the Kiwis in the ICC Test rankings.

“It’s a magnificent milestone for a young team winning here after 22 years. I am told that no Indian team has won a Test series coming back from being 0-1 down. So we have created a bit of history,” a satisfied Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Kohli termed the brilliant dressing room environment being one of the primary reasons for this success. “Even players like Bhuvi and Varun Aaron who did not play the last two Test matches were helping us out. Harbhajan Singh, who is such a senior player was also helping from outside. It was a collective effort. Everyone was raring to go and it’s a victory on which our Test careers will be built. I think it’s a magnificent milestone for all of us and we will gain some confidence from here on”, the skipper said.

Talking about the injuries that affected the visitors throughout the series the Indian Test skipper was unwilling to accept it as a drawback.

“Injuries do frustrate the team, but the attitude of the squad and the management was brilliant. It’s been a combined effort. If you take Pujara, he looked at this as an opportunity rather than a difficulty. That’s the change of mindset we are going through right now. Feels amazing to win the series 2-1 after being 0-1 down in Galle. Yes, there are areas that we can improve on, but we can count the number of sessions in one hand where we have not done well. We need to pat ourselves on the back for the way we played in the series. It’s never easy to win away from home. The kind of attitude and the character that the team has shown, I can be really proud of the boys.” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews was disappointed and expressed dismay at his batsmen despite good performances by his bowlers.

“I am disappointed, especially after winning a crucial toss and sending India to bat in demanding conditions. Our batting flopped again. The bowlers were outstanding. And then after giving them a 100-run lead, we did not bat well,” Mathews said after the match. The Lankan skipper was the highest scorer in the series, finishing with 339 runs and two hundreds – the second ton came as Sri Lanka tried to avoid defeat on the last day.