25th July (CRICKETNMORE) - Indian test captain Virat Kohli is excited after beating West Indies in the first test at Antigua. During the presentation ceremony, he shared his feelings about he victory, team combination, Ashwin and pace bowlers. Below are the excerpts:
About the Victory
Wow. I didn't know that (Biggest win margin outside Asia). Just feels good to get the first win on the board. Everyone was excited to play the game, we had enough practice and everyone was eager to get on with it. Scoring wasn't that easy initially, West Indies bowled well. Couple of their bowlers rushed the batsmen.
About Ashwin as a batsman
With 5 batsmen and at 70-2, we had to take responsibility. Shikhar was batting very well. Ashwin as well, brilliant innings down the order. And to have someone like him getting a ton down the order is wonderful. With 5 batsmen, we had to deepen the order so we had Ashwin at six. He's pretty good at both.
About Pace Bowlers (Also Read What Ashwin said after the first Test at Antigua)
We had a look at the wicket, our initial thought was 3 spinners, but with the amount of grass on offer we decided for 3 pacers. Ishant was unlucky despite bowling well. Really happy for Shami who is coming after injury, he's a perfect Test bowler. Umesh is bowling well and Ishant is consistent as always. That's the challenge for modern day batsman, the change of format is so quick that you have to adapt. We have to be smart about it. Sandeep Patil asked me whether I felt like hitting a six during the innings, but with 5 batsmen you don't feel like hitting a six.
About his performance
I'm just happy to contribute to the win. Our aim is obviously to win every game. I think we have a good bowling combination, if they give us a drier wicket, we have the spinners."
Saurabh