Ruthless. Dominant. Hungry. These three words perfectly sum up the impression Virat Kohli as a leader is leaving on this Indian side. Game after game, the men in blue, are churning out some impeccable performances and simply bossing over their opposition. With the series against Australia already in the bag now, one can expect the side to carry on this spree of dominance further.
During the third ODI at Indore, the victory meant that Virat Kohli equalled the feat of MS Dhoni, for most consecutive ODI wins for India. From November 2008 till January 2009, under the leadership of Dhoni, India won 9 consecutive ODI’s, which began with a 5-0 whitewash of England. The games later carried on till the first four ODI’s in Sri Lanka.
Now under Kohli’s leadership as well, the team has been on a match-winning spree of 9 consecutive ODI’s, which took off from the fifth ODI against the West Indies in Jamaica. Given India’s ruthless form of late, it wouldn’t be surprising if the side adds more to this prestigious tally.
Post the victory at Indore, half-centurion Ajinkya Rahane was beaming with confidence.
“Felt really good the way I batted, especially the last knock gave me the confidence in Kolkata,” said Rahane.
“We thought 290 was under par. With the way Australia were batting we thought they would get 330-340, but we bowled extremely well in the last 10 overs. Me and Rohit thought to play freely. We were trying to time the ball and for me it was important to get a single and give the strike to Rohit as he was batting so well.”
“Last innings the cover drives came out well, but the Australians bowled much straighter lines today and I was waiting for the short balls to play the pull. We don’t take things for granted. We want to win all the matches and take it one game at a time. We don’t take the opposition lightly and it is important to give respect. The focus is on the Bangalore game,” Rahane added.