That's all from us folks! Hope you enjoyed this cracker! Until next time then ...
That's all from us folks! Hope you enjoyed this cracker! Until next time then ...
Here's what the players had to say -
Rohit Sharma, Player of the Match: I wanted to be on the field as much as I could. That hundred was special. We know how important was the second innings. Virat just mentioned the effort from the batsmen, and as a unit it was really important. It's my first overseas hundred. Really glad that I could get the team into an important position. The three-figure mark wasn't in my mind, we knew the pressure on the batting unit so we kept our heads down and batted the situation. Once we got the lead, we just wanted to put pressure on the bowlers. I try to contribute for the team, it's important for me. I know the importance of opening the innings. I am glad I could make it count. It's always important to embrace the challenge, it's not going to be easy. The real game-changer was after the World Championship final. Looks good at the moment, the message from the physio is that we got to asses every minute.
Virat Kohli: Well, I think the best thing about both the games has been the character the team has showed. We are not looking to survive in this game, we are here to win. Really proud of the character the team has showed. It's quite relative what you call flat. The conditions were hot and we knew were in with an opportunity when Jadeja was bowling in the rough. The bowlers were good with the reverse swing today. We believed we could get all 10 wickets, we had the belief. As soon as the ball started reversing, Bumrah said give me the ball. He bowled that spell and swung the game in our favour with those two huge wickets. I think you pointed his performance. Rohit's innings was fantastic. What Shardul has done in this game stands out. His two fifties deflated the opposition. I think he batted well in both the innings. We never go towards analysis, statistics and numbers. We know what we need to focus on and we take a collective decision as a group. It's unfortunate they are not here. Everyone is happy with the win. It gives us more motivation to win the next Test. We have the belief, we are just looking forward to the opportunities. The fans have been amazing as well.