Our bench strength is extremely strong, says Kohli

With the rise of several young players like Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj and the maverick Rishabh Pant, India have been on a roll both at home and abroad

Ahmedabad: India’s supremely talented bench strength has made skipper Virat Kohli quite confident that the team will have a relatively smooth ride when the transition period dawns upon it in the next few years.

With the rise of several young players like Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj and the maverick Rishabh Pant, India have been on a roll both at home and abroad. On Saturday, the side humbled England 3-1 after clinching the fourth and final Test by an innings and 25 runs here. This was after an embarrassing 227-run loss in the first Test.

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“The comeback in Chennai pleased me the most. The first game was an aberration and England outplayed us. The toss played a crucial role and the bowlers weren’t in the contest. We bowled and fielded with more intensity and so the comeback was very heartening,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation.

“Our bench strength is extremely strong and that’s a good sign for Indian cricket. When the transition happens, the standards won’t fall and Rishabh and Washy’s partnership showed exactly that in a crucial juncture of the match,” Kohli added.

After notching up victories in the second and third Tests respectively, India won the fourth match inside three days. “We had to pick up our body language after the first game in Chennai. Every team in international cricket is a quality side and we need to work hard to beat them, even at home. Keeping that intensity going is most important and is the hallmark of our team,” Kohli said.

Star opener Rohit Sharma scored 161 in the first innings of the second Test and the skipper feels the knock changed the complexion of the series alongside seasoned spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s performance of 32 wickets.

“Rohit’s knock was the defining moment in Chennai, and Ashwin has been our most bankable player over the years so they have been our best players this series. “Now we can accept that the World Test Championship final, which was a distraction in New Zealand in 2020, but now it’s a reality,” Kohli said.