India captain Virat Kohli has said his fast bowlers’ performance in the Hyderabad Test has raised his hopes that they can succeed on foreign soil

Mohammad Isam in Hyderabad13-Feb-20173:30

We could have closed off the game a little early – Kohli

Virat Kohli on how he has evolved as captain

“You know, sometimes I stand in the field and think the wicket is not falling, you literally cannot do anything as a captain. You just have to accept the game is going, probably look to be more consistent with the ball and the fields that you set. Honestly it is the players that make you the captain that you become. To be very honest, anyone knows how to set fields in the ground, its just that you know, make sure you have the responsibility of keeping the energy of the team up. I look to push myself, throw myself [around], so guys know that they have to push for a wicket. I need to do that first, for the guys to show that energy. I am able to maintain that and that has been a takeaway from the games that I have been captain so far. Lot of times, you know that there is only so much that you can do as a captain.
“Before I would still be a bit of relentless with fields but now, I understand, when a pair is going for runs, I immediately go for in-out fields, no point giving them 4-5 boundaries. They might as well score 25 runs in singles, and take 15 overs to do that. That creates pressure and when you know you are bowling good balls, one ball does something you are back into the game. That’s something I have learnt and hopefully we will take it forward.”

India captain Virat Kohli has said his fast bowlers’ performance in the Hyderabad Test has raised his hopes that they can succeed on foreign soil. While their numbers during this home season haven’t been as imposing as those of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the likes of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have chipped in with incisive spells at key moments.Umesh’s spell on the third morning was described by Shakib Al Hasan as the best spell he had ever faced. Ishant picked up two wickets in the second innings while Bhuvneshwar impressed Kohli with his work with the old ball.”It is always a good thing to have good fast bowlers in the team especially in Test cricket,” Kohli said. “If you can have 3-4 seamers in your squad who are attacking bowlers and can pick you wickets at any stage during the day, then it is a bonus for any side. When we start going away from home, it is going to help us big time. The more the guys understand how to pick up wickets and how to set batsmen up, it is going to be really good for us.”Sides will know that these are not easy runs for the taking, they will have to work hard given the way our fast bowlers are bowling. It gives us more strength as a team having fast bowlers in rhythm and confidence and that’s something we always believe in doing in the team, giving our bowlers more importance and telling them they are the match-winners.”Kohli said that like Umesh in the first innings, Ishant stood apart among the bowlers during the second innings. Ishant took the key wickets of Sabbir Rahman and Mahmudullah after the sixth-wicket pair had added 51 in 18 overs.Ishant removed Sabbir with a delivery that came back in subtly; the batsman’s review of the leg-before decision was more out of hope than anything else. Soon after, he banged one in short to get Mahmudullah caught on the hook. Bangladesh’s back was broken in their quest to save the Test.Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled Mehedi Hasan with reverse-swing early on the fourth day•Associated PressKohli said the quality of India’s spinners ensures that the fast bowlers play a more aggressive role. He said Ishant breaking the partnership was crucial.”In the first innings it took a bit of patience for us to get wickets,” Kohli said. “I thought Umesh [Yadav], Bhuvi and Ishant Sharma were brilliant but Umesh stood out. In the second innings, all three bowled really well and Ishant stood out. I said in the post-match [presentation] that the quality of our spinners allows our fast bowlers to attack because of the way spinners bowl and contain runs, the pacers can really attack as soon as it starts reverse-swinging. I thought today Ishant’s spell was really good, bowled with pace and had to put in effort to take wickets at that stage and he took both the set batsmen out. That was really good for us.”Kohli also said Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s improvement in the last few matches has added to India’s pace bowling stocks. While Bhuvneshwar took only one wicket in the game, his spells with the old ball, particularly on the fifth day, didn’t let Bangladesh settle down for the rest of the day.”[Mohammad] Shami, Ishant [Sharma] and Umesh [Yadav], we all know. They’ve done it with the old ball many times. The way Bhuvi has bowled in the last few games he has played, with the old ball – it’s all because of his fitness levels having increased.”Having more strength in the body, he’s been able to put more pace in the ball which is key for reverse-swing. The other three guys, naturally, have more pace than him. I think Bhuvi has stepped up the game with the old ball too.”