Kingston: Skipper of the Indian cricket team Virat Kohli is impressed with Hanuma Vihari’s temperament as the youngster’s self belief spreads a sense of calm in the dressing room when he is out there in the middle.
Hanuma Vihari was undoubtedly India’s find of the Test series against West Indies as he emerged the top run-getter with 289 runs that included a century and two half centuries. No wonder his captain Virat Kohli was effusive in his praise for the Andhra batsman.
“Hanuma (Vihari) was the stand-out batsman in this game. According to the surface, it was a top class innings from him. He is someone who is sure of his game and it shows. The dressing room feels calm when he’s batting. That’s a quality he possesses naturally,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Vihari’s willingness to learn from mistakes is also a quality that will take him places, said the world’s best batsman.
“He (Hanuma) is willing to improve. He accepts and corrects his mistakes and plays with a lot of heart. Always up to do anything for the team. It’s a very young career so far but he’s shown why he’s been backed and selected in this team,” Kohli stated.
The Indian skipper was happy in the manner the victory was achieved. “It was pretty comprehensive again. We played really good cricket over four days. Getting result in manner that you want is crucial. We were in some tricky situations. It took a lot of character from the boys collectively,” asserted Virat Kohli.
Kohli, who won a record 28th Test as captain, attributed to the bowling unit, which has played its role in one victory after another.
“It’s a by-product of the quality team we have here (becoming the most successful Indian captain). If we didn’t have the bowlers we have, these results and records wouldn’t have been possible,” asserted Kohli.
“If you see these guys running in – Mohammed Shami’s spell today (Monday), (Jasprit) Bumrah after having a small niggle yet delivering, Ishant (Sharma) bowling his heart out, (Ravindra) Jadeja bowling a long spell. Captaincy is just a ‘C’ in front of your name. It’s the collective effort that matters,” the skipper was modesty personified.
While West Indies batting was shoddy, Kohli rated their pace attack as top class and as good as any team in world cricket.
“West Indies would know the areas they need to improve on. From bowling point of view, they were outstanding. Jason (Holder) and Kemar (Roach) were the standout bowlers. Their bowling attack with the red ball here is as lethal as anyone. If they get enough runs on the board, they’ll be a very dangerous opposition in Test cricket,” the Indian skipper opined.
Test wins by an Indian captain
Name Matches Wins
Virat Kohli 48 28
MS Dhoni 60 27
Sourav Ganguly 49 21
Md Azharuddin 47 14
Sunil Gavaskar 47 9
Mansur Ali Khan 40 9
Agencies
