After winning both the Test and the ODI series on Friday, India skipper Virat Kohli called their tour to Australia ‘amazing’. India won the historic ODI bilateral series by beating Australia by seven wickets in the third and final ODI, thanks to heroics from MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav.
Speaking during the presentation time, Kohli said, “It wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on, so it was important to take the game deep,” says Virat Kohli. “Two set batsmen there who knew what to do and they got the job done. Kuldeep had played a few games, so you don’t want to make things too predictable. So we brought on Yuzvendra Chahal, and he played beautifully.”
“We’ve been here a long time, it’s been an amazing tour. We drew the T20 series, won the Test series and now the ODIs. If you had given me these results before the tour, I would have gladly taken it.”
Man of the series Dhoni said after the match, “It was a slow wicket, so it was difficult to hit whenever you wanted to. It was important to take it deep. No point going after the bowlers hwo are doing well, so that was the gameplan, of course supported brilliantly by Kedar, who plays unorthodox shots. Whether I play at 4 or 6, we need to see if the team balance can be retained. Important thing is for me to bat where the team needs, I’m happy to bat lower down at 6.”
The losing captain Aaron Finch said that they did give away a few chances despite the side giving their all. “We took it down to the wire, but when you give great players a couple of chances, it’s always tough,” said Finch. “The way the boys gave everything.. yes, we did put down chances, but they gave it their all. Their batting in the first couple of games was very good.”
