Be ruthless, Kohli tells team

A five-wicket win in the third game of the five-match series on Sunday stretched India’s winning streak to a record 12 matches across all formats. Kohli’s side has been on a roll for the past year since regaining the number one Test spot with a 3-0 home whitewash of New Zealand. 

The in-form captain has led from the front with 1,137 runs in 21 50-over matches this year, ahead of South Africa’s Faf du Plessis as the highest one-day scorer in 2017. Kohli praised his team after the latest win against the once mighty Australians, which has been outplayed in India. Smith’s team also lost a Test series 2-1 in India this year. 

“Credit to the whole squad for the series win, but the journey stops only after the final game,” said Kohli, the top ODI and T20 batsman in the International Cricket Council (ICC) ratings. “We may give opportunities for people from now, but all 15 guys know that we got to be ruthless once we step onto the field,” Kohli added. The series has seen new Indian stars emerge, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya and left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav making an instant impact. 

While Pandya’s crucial 78 led the team’s run chase in Indore, Yadav impressed with his maiden hat-trick in the second international. However, legendary spinner Bishan Singh Bedi believes India has not been tested by opposition teams, barring the Champions Trophy final in June against Pakistan which it lost by 180 runs. India won 10 of its 13 Tests on home soil in the 2016-17 season and then went on to rout host Sri Lanka over nine games in all three formats. 

“Realistically speaking India is not even fielding its best XI and yet it is beating the opposition hands down, whether it is Sri Lanka or Australia,” Bedi said.