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Who said what: Cricketing world takes note of Virat Kohli's India

India celebrate after winning the Test series against England

 

A Test in Chennai is generally set against the backdrop of a calamity. 8 years ago, Mumbai-born Sachin Tendulkar helped to erase the sorrow that engulfed the nation after the attacks in Mumbai that ravaged the city.

This time around, the citizens of Chennai had suffered for the second December in a row in as cyclone Vardah with wind speeds of over 100 kmph left the city in tatters. 

The groundstaff, who the Indian players hugged right after clinching the win, did a phenomenal job to get the wicket ready in time for the game. They rolled out a perfect batting pitch and the Test saw over 1000 runs.

England won the toss and put 477 runs on the board on the back of a Moeen Ali century. KL Rahul looked set to be India’s hero with his 199 before he was upstaged by a once-in-a-lifetime performance from his Karnataka teammate Karun Nair, who scored an unbeaten 303 to give India a chance at a win.

India had one day to bundle England out and on the back of Ravindra Jadeja’s best bowling figures of 7/48 won the Test by an innings and 75 runs.

Revenge was India’s. England go back home after a 4 – 0 hounding! 

Karun Nair was adjudged the man of the match. He said – "I think it will take a couple of days to set in (The 300). Couldn't sleep much, I was going through all the texts and wishes that I got. It's an amazing feeling when you contribute to winning a match, so hats off the to team. Everyone congratulated me but we were more focused on winning the match. There's a lot to learn, I've been learning each day and working hard on my game."

England’s Alastair Cook said –  "Yeah, No excuses, India were the better team and deserved to win. It was a good fifth-day wicket, it turned out of the rough. We got ourselves in a good position at lunch but it wasn't enough. We dropped vital chances and India have been punishing us, it's hard to stop the momentum. Credit to Virat, they've outplayed us. Hard to say that as a professional but they've been better. It's a series of missed opportunities and dropped catches have cost us. Not being able to score enough runs and take enough wickets. It's a tough dressing room to be in, we tried as hard as we can but wasn't good enough. It's a tough place to come to."

Virat Kohli was adjudged the man of the series, the first time ever in his career, he said –  “Absolutely (winning0, especially after being 3-0, coming out and performing like this, it is evidence of the character in the side. It was evident the way they batted, bowled. We wanted the youngsters to step up, someone like KL, then Karun comes in after two Test matches and does so well. They got us to a position where there was only one winner.

England are always a tricky position. When you score 477 then concede a lead of 281, you are demoralized. We understood that if we got a couple of wickets, it could slide pretty quickly. Jadeja doing his job, picking up seven - it was great to watch.

Toss was out of the equation, pitches out of the equation. Conceded 400 but ended up winning by an innings, that doesn't happen very often. We worked hard day in, day out, we don't care what happens outside, lots of respect in the changing room. That's how we ended up being in a winning position more often than not. Every time were we under the pump, we've fronted up. The lower order has made outstanding contributions. The  fast bowlers’ pace was up there, consistency, better than theirs and that makes me very proud."

Here’s how the cricketing world reacted 

Virender Sehwag -

Harbhajan Singh –  

Ed Smith -

Isa Guha -

VVS Laxman –  

Michael Vaughan -

Mohammad Kaif –  

Kevin Pietersen – 

Gautam Gambhir –  

Russel Arnold – 

Sachin Tendulkar – 

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