Jasprit Bumrah (left) and Virat Kohli.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Perth: "Virat Kohli does not need us, we need him." With this one short statement, Jasprit Bumrah underlined the former India captain's importance to the Indian team. Kohli, struggling for form, stroked his way to a nerveless 100 on the third day of the opening Test here, rekindling his romance with Australia where he has most hundreds (seven) by an Indian batter ahead of Sunil Gavaskar (six).
"Obviously, I have already said that Virat Kohli does not need us, we need him," the stand-in skipper began after India's 295-run win over Australia here on Monday. "He is an experienced player. This is his fourth or fifth tour (fifth to Australia). So, he knows his cricket more than anyone else. He was in good shape. He was mentally switched on. Sometimes, as long as the career is, sometimes you bat in tough scenarios. He has always been batting in tough scenarios. So, it is always difficult to do in every match.
"But he was in a very good form and in a very good space. And obviously, he got a good delivery in the first innings. But he was still in a great space. And in the second innings, he capitalised. And obviously, at the start of the series, when he comes in confidence, you can't ask for more than this."
Bumrah became India's first Test captain to post a win in the new Perth stadium where he was excellent with the ball and brilliant with his calls as the skipper. But it was a team victory with seniors and juniors working in tandem towards a famous win.
"Very proud of the team," noted Bumrah about the all-round effort. "You know, we were put under pressure in the first innings when we were bowled out for 154. But then the team showed character and didn't lose belief. So, that is something that will be really special for us. And going forward as well, we can take a lot of confidence from that. Obviously, in this game, there are a lot of positives for us. We scored a lot of runs in the second innings. New guys coming in, also chipping in with a lot of runs. So yeah, very happy with the start."
While Bumrah had to deliver with the ball, he also had to pull the team along after being shot out for a morale-shattering 150 after choosing to bat first on the opening day.
What was his message to the team?
"The message was that, sometimes when you are bowled out for a low score, you can be a little too desperate and you can go pole hunting and you can be too desperate and try too much to get wickets. So, that was the message that when you try too much over here, it doesn't really help and the run scoring goes high. So, the message was, 'we'll be nice and disciplined and we'll make run-making as difficult as we can.'
"So, that is what has worked in the past over here as well. And when we are able to do that, that gives us a lot of success. So, that was the message I was passing."