Virat Kohli: 'It is a complete performance'

Indian cricket’s conveyor belt is moving smooth and Virat Kohli is thrilled about youngsters making a seamless transition to the national team. After defeating England in the fifth and final Test here on Tuesday, the Indian captain spoke extensively to the media.

"As a captain, I feel it’s a complete series for us. Everyone contributed at different times. Especially the lower-order contribution is something that stands out for me in this series."

Indian cricket’s conveyor belt is moving smooth and Virat Kohli is thrilled about youngsters making a seamless transition to the national team. After >defeating England in the fifth and final Test here on Tuesday, the Indian captain spoke extensively to the media.

Clinical performance

I would say it’s a complete performance, from the time we were put under pressure in the first game to coming back and winning the next four Test matches. As a captain, I feel it’s a complete series for us. Everyone contributed at different times. Especially the lower-order contribution is something that stands out for me in this series.

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Fit and ready

We want players to be match-ready when they join the India team. Like K.L. Rahul. Like Karun Nair. You can see their performance for yourself. Especially Karun. Replacing a batsman like Ajinkya (Rahane), who has been performing consistently in the last two years in Test cricket. To walk in and score a triple-hundred. There couldn’t have been a bigger statement. It shows that the next generation will keep getting smarter. It is just evolution.

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Karun the star

I haven’t seen him play too much first-class cricket. I have seen him play in the IPL against world-class bowlers, and he’s someone who has always showed character. He could pull the ball well. He used his feet, drive the ball well. At No.3, when the ball is swinging (he plays well). Against spinners, he’s very lethal. I have not seen anyone currently in India sweep so well against spinners. He’s just the complete package. It’s important to back guys like Karun. He was always our No.1 choice as a middle-order back-up. Just the third innings and he’s done wonders to the team and exceeded our expectations.

Timing the declaration

It's a very tricky situation to give yourself 20 more overs (on the fourth day), when if they haven't bowled you out for in almost 200 overs! This guy is close to 300 and it doesn't happen every day. It's not like he is taking 10 overs to do it. He was hitting sixes, he was hitting fours, he was getting us a bigger lead. It was a perfect scenario where he got us to a stage where we couldn't have batted again and at the same time, we had enough overs. If the wicket was doing enough, then those overs were good enough. If we have five bowlers, we should be able to knock teams off in 90-plus overs. That's exactly what we did.