Virat Kohli, on Friday, lauded his spinners – Yuzvendra Chahal and left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav – as his side romped to a 50-run win at Kolkata to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match One-day International series against Australia. India’s spin duo have now taken 10 wickets in two games with the Uttar Pradesh tweaker joining an elite brand after picking up a hat-trick.

Kohli walked away with the Man-of-the-match award after scoring a steely 92. The India captain, though, said he was uncertain if 252 was a match-winning score, “We did not feel like we had enough at the break. But we knew if we had a good start we have a good chance of defending it; we don’t take wickets it would be difficult. To be honest, the wicket was not easy to bat on throughout the day,” he said.

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He added, “Two young spinners bowling with a lot of heart – speaks volumes about their characters. Really augurs well for us how the team is shaping up.”

The 28-year-old also sung the praises of medium-pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who finished with exceptional figures of 6.1-2-9-3. Kohli said, “Bhuvi’s [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] spell became even more important because we knew the wrist-spinners would do damage in the middle. The deliveries he got the batsmen out with were unplayable. You can count on Bhuvi for getting the breakthroughs.”

‘It was not easy to bat’

Coming into the game, Kohli’s unusually quiet run with the bat against the Australians in recent times came under the scanner – he had paltry returns of 46 runs from six games. As for his match-winning display, falling short of his 31st ODI hundred by eight runs, the batting ace thinks it is a case of his efforts paying off.

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He said: “I always try to create that kind of motivation for myself. Sometimes things don’t come off for you but I try and stay in the same zone. It was not easy to bat, plus the bowling attack was quality as well. Came off today, so it looked nice. Did not come off in Chennai, so it did not look nice.”

Meanwhile, a ‘proud’ Kuldeep Yadav reflected on picking up a hat-trick, a feat he had achieved as an under-19 cricketer too, “This is special for me, it changed the game for us. It was a really proud moment,” he said.

The 22-year-old credited the influence of former captain MS Dhoni after being carted for runs in his first few overs, “Initially I was struggling to bowl in a particular area. It’s a game of cricket, everything happens. Last match, where I was hit for three sixes in an over, was a learning experience. I asked Mahi bhai [Dhoni] what I should do, [and] he said tujhe jaisa lagta hai wo daal (you bowl what you feel is right),” Yadav said.