India vs England 2021: ‘Perfect game for us,’ Virat Kohli appreciates Indian players in the post-match presentation after clinching an easy win

India vs England 2021: ‘Perfect game for us,’ Virat Kohli appreciates Indian players in the post-match presentation after clinching an easy win
kohli 2
Virat Kohli thanking crowd for their presence

Team India won the second Test against England convincingly on Day 4 when the former staggered the visitors at 164 runs and sealed a 317 run victory.

The match saw opener Rohit Sharma, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, Chennai boy Ravichandran Ashwin, skipper Virat Kohli and the debutant Axar Patel rise to the occasion and get India the much-needed win to level the series 1-1.

Virat Kohli began by speaking of the in-stadium crowd that was absent in the first clash against England. “It was a bit strange in the first game to be playing at home with empty stands. We were pretty flat on the first two days over there to be pretty honest, myself included, didn’t pick up energy on the field. But from the second innings onwards in the first game, we picked up and were on the money in terms of our body language.”

Virat Kohli feels crowd is a motivating factor

WhatsApp Image 2021 02 16 at 4.16.25 PM
Virat Kohli during the match

“The crowds make a big difference, this game was an example of the grit and determination this side shows and the crowd is a big part of that. Chennai crowd are very intelligent, they understand their cricket really well. In a 15-20 minute period where the bowler needs the support of the crowd, it is my responsibility to involve everyone and bring in the crowd. If I am running into bowl in this heat, I need people to motivate me,” Virat Kohli said during the presentation ceremony.

Hailing Indian players’ performances, Kohli said, “It is a perfect game for us. The conditions were challenging for both sides, but we showed more application with the bat. We didn’t panic out there looking at the turn and bounce, we showed grit, got into the game and scored 600 runs in the game. We know our bowlers would do the job for us if we put up these runs. The toss wouldn’t have mattered much in this game to be honest, because if you looked at our second innings, we got 300 as well. It wasn’t unfair if the toss went either way. Both teams should be in the game from the first session onwards, whether it is on spinning to seaming tracks, and that exactly was the case in this game.“

The two teams will now fly to Ahmedabad and start preparations for the third Test slated to begin from February 24.

Also read: India vs England 2021: ‘Enjoying my game and am really happy it happened in Chennai,’ Ravi Ashwin opens up in post-match presentation