Virat Kohli speaks about India's clinical series win in Sri Lanka
What's the story?
Virat Kohli has been on a victorious run as the Indian skipper ever since taking over the reigns of captaincy from MS Dhoni. His team just whitewashed Sri Lanka in a Test series in their own backyard, in a completely dominant fashion.
Talking about the one-sided result, Kohli said, "The one-sided result is good for us, if it goes against us, we will definitely think about the same. But we are winning and the momentum is with the team. When playing, we don't think where Test cricket is headed and what the future will be.
"As I said before, we have great pride in the intensity with which we play the game. We consider it a privilege that we are able to play Test cricket for the country. Our mindset hasn't changed one bit till now," he added.
India looked comfortable throughout the series and pulled off clinical, ruthless victories in all the three Tests. Kohli is the first Indian captain to complete an overseas whitewash. This is his 8th straight Test series victory as a captain, a record that's second only to the nine won by Australian Ricky Ponting.
In case you didn't know...
India won the third and final Test against Sri Lanka in Pallekele by an innings and 171 runs today (August 14). Hardik Pandya was declared the Man of the Match for his outstanding hundred and Shikhar Dhawan was named the Man of the Series for his consistent exploits at the top of the order.
Each player chipped in at some point in the series, and India conducted themselves like the World No. 1 Test side that they are in all the three games.
The details
Kohli believes that the 3-0 result is not an indication of how strong the Indian unit is, but just a result of the good cricket that his team played.
He added that winning all three tosses worked in his team's favour and conceded that it was a major factor in the second Test especially.
The 28-year-old did not shy away from praising his team though. He said that the team put constant pressure on the opposition to win more sessions during the Test matches, which in turn helped them clinch the series.
What's next?
Kohli will now lead the team in the limited overs series against the hosts. They will play five ODIs and a one-off T20I before heading back home to host Australia for five ODIs and three T20I games.
Their next Test match will be in November when Sri Lanka travel to India for a full-fledged tour.
Author's take
While the Indian team have performed brilliantly in the past 12 months, they are yet to face the toughest teams in testing conditions. However, it does look like they have it in them to make things go their way in alien conditions as well.