Success has been Virat Kohli's shadow since the defeat in Galle in the first half of August 2015.Since then, India have upstaged Sri Lanka 2-1, South Africa 3-0, West Indies 2-0, New Zealand 3-0, England 4-0 and now Bangladesh 1-0. Kohli, the new captain across formats, has learnt his lessons along the way."Honestly, it is the players that make you the captain that you become," he said after leading his team to a 208run rout of Bangladesh on Monday .
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"Anyone knows how to set fields on the ground. It's just that you make sure you have the responsibility of keeping the energy of the team up.The bowlers know what they need to do but the fielders within the ring need to support the bowlers. I need to do that first, for the guys to show that energy . A lot of times, there is only so much that a captain can do. Before, I would be a bit relentless with fields, but now I understand better. That's something I have learnt and hopefully we will take it forward."
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He said the hosts allowed the game to drift. "The only thing we could have done better is close the second innings quickly. There was a lapse in body language when they were eight down. We should have taken the chances and finished the game 45 minutes before what we actually did.
We need to improve. Closing off games is important, especially in Test cricket. You don't want to give opposition any chance to get into the game. That's something we need to keep re peating as a team."
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The win on Monday made it a 19-match unbeaten streak for Kohli, which the Indian cap tain said he owed to his mates.While Ashwin was the man of the series against Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand, Kohli bagged the honours against England and was named Man of the Match here too. "I don't think it's because of me. We are playing as a team and that's been the difference. Probably in 2016, I scored a lot of runs but in 2015 as well we won a lot of matches.I didn't score many runs then but the other guys stepped up and scored runs. Say Ajinkya's two tons in Delhi and the second innings hundred in Sri Lanka. That streak is not down to 2-3 people, it is a combined effort of all the guys.
ALSO READ:?Virat Kohli's Boys Just Need A Draw To Set The Indian New Record For Longest Unbeaten Streak At Home
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"In the last series, the contribution of the fast bowlers stood out.There was so much focus on the spinners, but they stood out as the difference between the two sides. These are the things that go unnoticed. Guys who have man-of-the-match performances are usually in focus than guys who don't have those performances, but in the context of the game get two set batsmen out and the whole game opens up for the guy who becomes man of the match. We give credit to those guys, and that's been the plus point of our team where everyone has contributed in the past few series."
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Kohli said he was happy with his fourth double century in the last seven months and added the wicket here played its role in helping batsmen flourish. "The idea was to play with five batters. Saha makes it six, so you have to take extra responsibility. The wicket was really good to bat on and I didn't expect myself to get 200 off 240 balls [204; 246b]. Usually I take more time. The wicket allowed me to play my shots. It was really important to get into the rhythm go ing into a big series against Australia."
The former skipper felt that Kohli is yet to be tested away from home but is the man to take Indian cricket forward.
"The signs are pretty much there for him to go and succeed overseas. He's passionate, he's hungry, he's done well in Sri Lanka, yes you can say the West Indies were weak but he still managed to get past them," he told India Today.
Be as it may, Ganguly was all about aggression and if he feels Kohli is the man, then we should give it some thought.?
Clearly Indian cricket is in a good place right now and we can only expect good at the moment.