India vs Australia: Nothing can stop us from winning in Sydney, says Virat Kohli
Captain Virat Kohli said his team is not going to rest until they win the fourth and final Test against Australia in Sydney and clinch India's first-ever Test series Down Under.
India took giant strides towards winning their first ever series on Australian soil in seven decades by retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a comprehensive 137-run win in the third Test on Sunday.
Taking an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series, India will retain the coveted trophy even if the series is drawn level at Sydney as they have won the previous series at home in 2017.
It took only 27 balls on the fifth day afternoon as Jasprit Bumrah (3/53) and Ishant Sharma (2/40) completed the formalities in what turned out to be India's 150th Test victory.
"We are not going to stop here. This (win) will give us more confidence and we will play more positively in Sydney. I think we have been really smart in all the departments in the two matches that we have won. That is the reason we have at least retained the trophy but the job is not done yet," Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
"It's not finished at all. We want to win the last Test match as well, if an opportunity comes our way. We don't want to be complacent. We are all but ready for the final Test match.
"Nothing is to going to distract us from wanting us to winning that last Test match. We have never been in this position and now is the time to express ourselves even more," he added.
India set up their victory with an imposing first-innings tally of 443/7, which was scored in almost two days of batting on a slow-paced pitch. Cheteshwar Pujara's patient 106 included a 170-run stand with Kohli (82) for the third wicket.
In reply, Australia crumbled for 151 as Bumrah claimed 6/33. India's second innings of 106/8 declared gave the touring team a 398-run advantage, with more than five sessions remaining in which to bowl Australia out a second time.
India thus won a Test match at the iconic MCG after 37 long years when Sunil Gavaskar's men beat Greg Chappell's side in the 1980-81 series.
Fittingly it was the legendary Kapil Dev, who had then played a major role taking five wickets in defending a low total while it was young Bumrah with match figures of 9 for 86, who was the hero on what looked like a docile track.
Kohli praised his fast bowling unit and attributed their success to their ability to complement each other.
The trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma has collectively taken 134 away wickets (Bumrah 48, Ishant 40 and Shami 46) in a single calender year eclipsing the 34-year-old record that stood in the name of the fearsome West Indies trio of Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Joel Garner (130 wickets in away tours in 1984).
"The credit goes to our fast bowlers, especially Bumrah, he has been brilliant for us. "He (Bumrah) was unlucky not to get wickets in Perth. The way he bowled, it was almost criminal that he didn't reap the rewards. The team management calmed him down and wickets for him came in bunches in this Test and he won us the Test match here at the MCG," Kohli said.
