If a team plays very well in a series, you will get such results: Kohli on SL whitewash

India’s first ever overseas whitewash came against a below-par Sri Lanka side in a lopsided series but skipper Virat Kohli doesn’t want to read into where the game’s longest format is heading.

“We are winning and the momentum is with the team. When playing, we don’t think (stuff like) where Test cricket is headed and what the future will be. We consider it a privilege that we are able to play Test cricket for the country. Our mindset hasn’t changed one bit till now,” the skipper said after the third Test.

Kohli did agree that when both teams compete on an even keel, the situation becomes better.

“When both teams play very good cricket, it is a cracker of a series. But like South Africa were in England for four months, that factor they themselves admitted that it played on their minds because they didn’t go home after the Champions Trophy. I think all those factors too should be taken into account.”

“If any team plays very well in a series, you will get such results. When both teams play with equal intensity, the matches will be very close and so will the series,” he added.

The India skipper has often attributed this consistency to concentrating on getting the team’s process right.

“In the last game, we enforced the follow on but we did not execute the things that we wanted to the best of our abilities. Plus the opposition played well. This time we took it as an opportunity, we spoke about it in the morning - treat this as Day 5 of an away tour, probably a series defining Test match where we’ll have to get an opposition out within 60-70 overs.”

“So we keep finding different situations and scenarios where we can challenge ourselves as a team first before we look at the opposition. Again today was another opportunity for us to challenge ourselves and I’m glad the guys stood up for it,” said Kohli.

Praise for Shami

Kohli was full of praise for pacer Mohammed Shami, rating him among the “top three fast bowlers” in international cricket.

Shami bowled with lot of fire taking 10 wickets in three Test matches at an impressive average of 17.70.

“I certainly rate Shami among the world’s top three fast bowlers for sure. Because of his wicket-taking ability and the kind of impact he has on games. When he makes up his mind to come out and give it his 120 percent, then he can bowl like this - 145, 140 clicks on a regular basis and troubling the batsmen,” Kohli said.

Shami’s career has been plagued by injuries but if that part is taken care of, he can be a world-class bowler consistently, feels Kohli.

“He has all the ingredients of becoming a consistent world-class bowler, provided the fitness factor can be maintained and hopefully he is not hampered with any more injuries. He is a very valuable bowler for us and when he is on song, it’s delightful to watch. We all really enjoy standing on the field and watching him bowl like that. He is very special,” Kohli said.

All praise for Hardik

As he has waxed eloquent about Hardik Pandya, the skipper once again said that the all-rounder should be judged by his on-field performance rather than off-the field demeanour.

“Performance has spoken for itself. People might have problems with the kind of demeanour he has or the belief he carries with himself, but we certainly in the team have no doubts on that.”

“We let him be who he is, we let him express himself. You know, a guy who can get a 50 and a hundred in his first three games batting at No 8 has to have something special in him,” said Kohli.

“And the innings that he played here, after we were 320 for 6, it wasn’t just mad slogging. He actually used his brain and batted with the tail, which I think is a great sign for us. All doubts aside from the outside, inside the team, we absolutely have 120 percent faith in him,” Kohli stated.

Bench strength to the fore

“Our strength in the last couple of years has been bench strength. That’s why we have been able to get the results that we have because we have played different players on different occasions, but everyone has been fit and ready to come and do the job,” Kohli said.

“Mostly we have played people depending on the conditions where we feel they will be most effective. That depth has really helped us capitalise more situations in favour of the team and end up winning Test matches and series. That you can say has been the defining factor,” he said.