At the end of the first Test in Antigua, as India won by an innings and 92 runs, Virat Kohli was calm and collected. There were the usual fist bumps with teammates and hi-fives all around, even as coach Anil Kumble climbed downstairs from the dressing room and congratulated all the players.
Success hung in the air, but there were no excessive celebrations. A mission had been accomplished – getting the long Test season off to a winning start after three weeks of intense preparation. There was no aggressive gesticulation, though, perhaps as a simple reminder that there will be no letting up.
“For us, every game is a new game. We are not connecting the previous game to the next one. That’s how you perform consistently. We want to win as many games in the series as possible. If we have a chance to win 4-0 then why not? We don’t need to be complacent. If we end up getting a 2-0 lead (in Jamaica), it’s not that we’re playing for a draw in the next two Tests,” said Kohli in the post-match press conference.
It all worked out
To say that this was an easy win would be unfair to the Indian team, which pressed hard on a less than helpful surface. But they will face sterner examination in the months to come when facing New Zealand, England and Australia, albeit at home. Thus, winning this Test was an imperative for the team, and the manner in which they have reached their goal has laid out a complete template for the long season ahead.
The runs came at a canter, despite playing only five frontline batsmen. The ploy to have Ravichandran Ashwin bat at number six worked like a charm. The pace bowlers hunted in a pack, and bent their backs on a placid track. The spinners came into action as the match progressed, and again, Ashwin rectified his previous overseas record. It was akin to an orchestra fine tuned, presenting an impeccable performance on the opening night.
And at the helm of this symphony was, well, Kohli of course. Yes, Ashwin won the man-of-the-match award and justifiably so, but the Indian skipper left his stamp of leadership on the proceedings at every juncture.
Kohli walks the talk
It had begun at toss-time itself, when he walked the talk and elected to bat. “Our five batsmen need to take responsibility”, he had said in the pre-match conference. On a fresh pitch, against Shannon Gabriel’s pace, he asked the batsmen to do a firm job. A couple of them failed – in particular, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, getting out to loose shots and that too at crucial moments, something that this team is trying hard to rectify.
“In the previous series against Australia and Sri Lanka, we lost too many wickets either late or too early in the sessions. It was going into the break or just after the break that we would lose wickets. It shifted momentum and cost us in both those series. We want to avoid those mistakes,” Kohli had said. There was a particular instance during his masterful double ton where he got to showcase the same.
He has struggled against the swinging ball in the past, and in one spell Carlos Brathwaite got him driving with the ball flying in the gully region twice. Post-tea on day one then, Kohli just tightened up his game and started playing straighter down the ground, cutting out on any off-drives that could get him or his team in trouble.
Barring this brief passage of play, it was a faultless innings and perhaps the easiest runs he will have scored in international cricket. And yet his job was merely half done. With the declaration later on day two, began a more important role of shepherding his side to victory.
Catches win matches
Short spells and perfect field placements were key to getting the West Indies’ batsmen out, as much as it was important to build pressure on them by not allowing easy runs. The onus was on the bowlers to string together maiden overs and they did so with aplomb. By picking a five-bowler attack, India were in the ascendancy from the very beginning, yet this point was driven home by some excellent fielding.
Often, bowlers can be let down by lethargic fielders, and this charge can surely be levelled against the West Indies players during the Indian innings. In sharp contrast, the Indian skipper buttoned up his field pretty tight. “The one thing that I try to do is try and think as a batsman,” said Kohli later, explaining his field placements.
As a bowler, too, Jason Holder could not uplift his team’s performance. He may be a young skipper, but Kohli’s leadership experience isn’t vast either. This very discernible difference in the fielding highlighted the gulf between the two leaders as well as their respective teams.
As a thinking captain, Kohli then shuffled the field around, again and again, to suit his bowlers’ preferences as well as attack the batsmen at the same time. The first innings dismissal of Kraigg Brathwaite was a highlight in this regard. Batting on 74, he looked the best amongst West Indies’ batsmen, and yet fell to an on-side trap.
The Indian skipper moved in two short mid-wicket fielders and a forward short leg, with a square leg and mid-on fielder present to provide added protection. Umesh Yadav bowled short deliveries and the batsman, tied up and unable to play a pull stroke, ended up edging one behind. It was one moment of exultation that stood out, perhaps even more than when Kohli pulled off a stupendous diving catch in the second innings off Ashwin’s bowling.
From planning to execution, from set-up to success, that Brathwaite dismissal encapsulated the perfection this Test was for Kohli.
For all the sports scores and reports, go to The Field.
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