Sri Lanka vs India 2017, Who said what: The world reacts to India's historic win
When Team India was dominating the first Test against Sri Lanka, little did the Men in Blue know that they are on their way to create history. Virat Kohli's men defeated their hosts by 304 runs that marked their biggest away victory in terms of a run margin.
Captain Kohli scored his 17th century in the second innings and India declared their score on 240 for 3 setting up a stiff target of 550. Sri Lankan batsmen failed to chase the score as they lost their top-order batsmen early on the fourth day. Dimuth Karunaratne, Sri Lanka opener, scored a whopping 97 but just when began to look threatening, Ashwin got his wicket right on time. Even Niroshan Dickwella's 67 failed to save the match for Sri Lanka.
Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja picked three wickets each and dismantled the batting order of the opponents. Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami also took one wicket each and contributed in defeating the Lions.
Shikhar Dhawan, in the end, was declared as the Man of the Match while Ravichandran Ashwin received a special award after having played his 50th Test.
Talking about his team's performance and the massive victory that India registered today, Virat Kohli had his proud moment of the day. He said, "Last time (2015) we should have won and it was really denting as far as our confidence is concerned. But, this time around it was a very clinical performance. We are a more experienced side now and that's what is showing in the field. Really happy with the way things have gone and the guys stood up when it mattered the most. All bases were covered nicely. Everyone turned up. The surface didn't offer much, that's why the win is special."
The Indian skipper also gave a special credit to his batsmen and stated that the top-order batsmen of his team did their job really well. Discussing the importance of the batting he added, "Last time it was good for bowling and this time it is good for batting. One regular opener is not fit right now. I think it is a massive headache (smiles), but a good one to have. At most, only three openers make the squad. It's good to have guys scoring rather than guys not scoring consistently."
Praising the bowlers, Kohli added, "The bowlers did well on a track that offered nothing and I think that shows how much hard work the boys put in. Persistent pressure for longer periods always pays off and that's something I believe in."
As the Indian team inscribed a new record, Twitter started flooding with congratulatory messages. Here is how the cricket world reacted to the historical win of Virat Kohli and Co.