Virat Kohli: We may have lost the series 4-1 but were not outplayed

India skipper Virat Kohli admitted that the final scoreline of 1-4 was harsh on them, but it did not reflect the intensity and competence with which this Test series was played between India and England.

“The kind of cricket we have played might not show on the scorecard. But both the teams know this series has been a competitive one. I think the 1-4 scoreline is a fair one as England played better than us but we were not outplayed barring the Lord’s Test,” said Kohli at the post-match presentation ceremony, reported PTI.

India lost the series 4-1 to England, but the defeat could have been much graver, had it not been twin fighting centuries from Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. From being down at 2/3, the pair not just rescued India out of trouble, but also built hope of achieving the impossible till the time both of them occupied the crease.

“I think a lot of credit has to go to the two young guys (Rahul and Pant). Stepping up at such a crucial juncture with three wickets down for just two runs was brave. I am delighted for both the guys and it speaks of India’s future,” said Kohli.

Asked if they had discussed going for the win on the final day of the match, the Indian skipper said that there were no such things.

“To be brutally honest, we did not talk about whether we will win this game or not. The basic idea was to go out there and play the cricket we are known to play. When those two guys (Rahul and Pant) started hitting the ball, we thought there might be hope. There were overs left and both those guys were scoring freely. We know England are a professional side and we were just waiting and watching. Things can change in Test cricket and we realized that as the game changed within two-three overs. And that is the beauty of the format. But it takes nothing away from the two guys.”

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He was also full of praise of a 20-year-old Pant, who with the century became the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a ton in England. He is also only the fourth Indian wicket-keeper to score a century overseas and overtook the previous best of 72 scored by MS Dhoni at Lord’s in 2007.

“Pant showed a lot of grit and character,” added Kohli. “We have characters in the team and we just need some experience to close out games. I was thinking when I was watching him (Pant), when you get into a zone and when you are not thinking about the result, things go your way. It was just a great preview of what is in store for him individually and for Indian cricket.”

Although the series ended 4-1 in favour of England, all of the matches barring the Lord’s Test went down to the wire and it was an intense battle between both the sides. Kohli said that this series was not just the revival of Test cricket but it has been a great advertisement of how entertaining and equally intensifying the longer format of the game could be.

“This has been a great advert for Test cricket. The fans will come and watch if both teams play for a win. The basic idea was to go out there and play the cricket we are supposed to do,” he said.

Image Source: India TV

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