Indore: Terming it to be a clinical performance by his team, India captain Virat Kohli said that the hosts were very professional with the bat and the kind of fast bowlers he has in his team is a dream combination for any captain.
"Don't know what to say. Another clinical performance by India. We were very professional with the bat. Playing five batters with one guy taking responsibility is what we want with overseas tours coming up. Hats off to the boys. Our fast bowlers are on top of their game. When they bowl, it looks like any pitch is a good pitch. Jasprit isn't here but this is a dream combination for any captain. Having strong bowlers the most important thing in any team. The numbers and records are there for everyone to see, that'll remain in the books, we haven't focused on it."
Riding on a double century (243) by Mayank Agarwal and some fantastic bowling from his pacers, India won the first Test against Bangaldesh by an innings and 130 runs at Indore on Saturday.
Kohli added that his team was looking at keeping the standards up and motivating the next lot of players. "In that process, we're pushing up the standards of Indian cricket. We don't care about numbers at all as a team. The mindset is simple, when you see a young guy coming in to bat, in Tests I know how much time it took me to get those big hundreds, so I know the importance of getting big runs. It's important as a senior batter to let them know to keep going. I want them to not make the mistakes I made as a youngster and make them world class cricketers," said Kohli.
"The pink-ball Test is going to be exciting, will be a challenge for the batters. With the older ball, it doesn't swing that much so the bowlers will have a challenge. We're just happy to be among the first to play pink-ball cricket for India. The crowd has been brilliant, these guys give us the extra motivation to push extra when we're tired," said the skipper on the Day-Night Test to be played at Eden Gardens.
Mayank Agarwal, who was man-of-the-match for his 243 said, "I just hope I keep smiling for longer and longer. I do hitting sixes but not during the Tests. But I do try and hit a few in domestic cricket. It's dream come true to play for India, grateful for the start I've got. Hope I can continue. It's great to have somebody who motivates you. When I got my first 150, Kohli was at the non-striker's end and he said 'nothing short of 200 for you next.' We've had three pink-ball sessions under lights, Rahul Dravid arranged those in Bangalore. Looking forward to the game now. It's going to be a landmark game for us."
