Virat Kohli felt India's failure to claim a big lead in the first innings was a key factor in the 60-run loss to England in the fourth Test.
Chasing 245 for victory, India was bowled out for 184, a fourth-wicket stand of 101 between Kohli and Rahane going in vain. "In the first innings we were in a good position, me and Puji (Pujara) had a good partnership — we got off to a decent start. We couldn’t capitalize on that," he said.
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"Getting a lead of 27 with Pujara batting through showed all of us that we could have gotten a bigger lead. After I got out, I myself felt that had I batted for longer that day the lead could have been bigger. Apart from that we I don't think we did much wrong in this game throughout. England played better cricket than us and deserved to win the Test match."
Kohli felt the target was one within India's reach, admitting that the game was evenly poised at the start of the fourth day. "I thought England played really well to give us that target, seeing how the pitch was and the ball was spinning," he said at the presentation ceremony.
"It was challenging for us. We thought we were in with a chance last night but we didn't get the start we wanted. They were relentless with the ball and applied pressure throughout. Credit to them, they bowled well and we couldn't get enough."
Best series as captain
Meanwhile, a triumphant Joe Root felt the target India was set had been a strong one. "When I was batting on it, I thought 190 would have been a good score. But the fact we managed to get up and beyond 230-240 was a fantastic effort and proved to be a really difficult chase. We always knew there was going to be a partnership at some stage.
"[We knew that] that if we stuck to what we wanted to do for long periods of time the wicket would do the rest for us."
The series had been his best as captain, Root felt. "It's definitely been the most enjoyable," he stated.
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