Indian Test and ODI skipper Virat Kohli has opened up about his partnership with the newly appointed head coach Rahul Dravid. Kohli, who was rested for the three T20Is and Kanpur Test against New Zealand, played his first Test in Dravid’s tenure in Mumbai.
The bonding of Dravid and Kohli worked like magic for Team India as they defeated New Zealand by 372 runs to seal the two-match series 1-0 on Monday. After the comprehensive win in the Mumbai Test, Kohli reflected on working with the Karnataka stalwart.
Kohli said the previous management did a tremendous job, and now with Dravid, they hope to do the same as the motto is to take the Indian cricket forward.
“We all are serving Indian cricket, the previous management did a terrific job, now with Rahul bhai coming in, the mindset is the same. To take Indian cricket forward. It’s important to keep the standards of Indian cricket and make sure it’s always growing,” said Kohli in the post-match presentation.
Speaking about the team performance, Kohli asserted that it was a crucial win as everyone stepped in with their respective acts. The Delhi-lad mentioned that Indian bowlers did their best in the series opener in Kanpur, but Black Caps batters got the better of them, however, in Mumbai, the bounce and spin gave the hosts a much better chance to capitalise in order to win the contest.
“To come back with a win again, it’s a great feeling and a clinical performance. You want individuals to step up. The first Test was good, and it was a clinical performance here. We discussed the performance and the opposition played out a good draw. The bowlers tried all their best, but the Kiwi batsmen stuck it out really well in Kanpur. Here there was more bounce, and the fast bowlers got assistance as well, so it gave us a better chance to win the Test match,” added Kohli.
