It is not every day that you win a day-night match even before the lights are switched on and India captain Virat Kohli was obviously pleased with the clinical performance.
“I was a bit surprised when (Jason) Holder opted to bat first. I think that after a heavy defeat in the fourth match he didn’t want to chase a big score here.
Blessing in disguise
“We would have bowled first and losing the toss was a blessing in disguise. The wicket had a bit of dampness and was turning in the first innings. The pitch was good and was challenging for the batsmen and there was something in it for the bowlers.
“It was a good change from the usual trend in the series where batsmen were dominating and there was no room for error for the bowlers. But having said that credit should be given to our bowlers who bowled in the right areas,” said Kohli.
The Indian skipper said the biggest takeaway for him from this series was the batting performance of Ambati Rayudu and bowling of left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed.
“Two things that come to mind is definitely the way Rayudu played and Khaleel bowled. This was something we were looking for a while. We needed someone to back up Bhuvi and Bumrah.
“As I said having a left-arm seamer gives variation to the attack. Khaleel was very good and Rayudu grabbed his opportunities, batting with maturity, batting with composure. It is always nice to plug in areas we were looking at and these seem to be the take away from the series for me.
After ticking all the boxes in both batting and bowling department, the Indian skipper said there was still room for improvement in fielding, which will add more consistency to the overall performance of the squad.
“The only thing I can think of now is having a consistent effort in the field with our energy and intensity, especially in high-scoring games. If we can improve our fielding that will gives us overall consistency in the skills department.
“We have spoken to people who need to put extra effort on the field and they are working on it,” he said.
