Kohli’s special praise for Jayant

The Indian captain was happy to be on the right side of the result. “It was lovely to have five bowlers who can pick up wickets. The biggest positives from this Test are how the fast bowlers bowled and Jayant’s debut. He got one wicket in England first innings, scored some runs and then took three wickets in the second innings,” Kohli said.

Kohli said India stepped into the match with the right intention. “A lot of people had questioned the team's performance at Rajkot. So we wanted to win this match. We wanted to make sure we batted five sessions, get 450 plus, which is what we did. Scoreboard pressure really counts. The bowlers then came up with a good show,” he added. 

The Indian captain thought England would start the final day with a lot of intent. “As I said even after the last game, England are a side we do not take for granted. We understand that they have quality players, who have played a lot of cricket, their captain has over 100 Tests. So, you expect them to show that resilience, character and fight. It is a learning process for us as well to be patient and to fight. I think that the way we bowled yesterday was magnificent. Not giving away more than 1.4 per over, we thought they would come out with more intent, to be very honest. And to see the approach that they had, obviously, gave us assurance that once we get a couple of wickets, it will crumble quickly because there wasn't much intent from the batsmen,” he added. 

Kohli said the Dr. YSR ACA VDCA Stadium is a special place. “It’s been a lucky ground for me, a similar feel I get for Adelaide. You want to play exciting cricket because so many people come to watch. They help you through tough situations,” he said. 

England were in a similar situation in 2012, losing the first Test but bounced back to pocket the series and Kohli said he wasn’t thinking about the past. “We know the ability that they have but we are not thinking about the past. We are not the side which thinks what happened the last time they came or the last time we went there. You are already not in the game as soon as you start thinking like that. We believe in our abilities more than we analyse the opposition. It's been our strength over the last 12-14 months and we continue to do that,” Kohli added.