Captain Virat Kohli on Sunday expressed his satisfaction after India mauled Sri Lanka by six wickets in the fifth and final one-day international in Colombo to complete their 5-0 series whitewash. Kohli, who slammed his second straight hundred to lead India's chase, was unbeaten on 110 following his 131 in the fourth ODI. Kohli said he always thought that the limited-overs would be more challenging and lauded his young boys for showing "spunk" on the field. India had earlier beaten Sri Lanka 3-0 in the Test series.
"It's quite amazing to have won the series 5-0. We always thought the shorter format is going to be much more challenging. The youngsters and the spunk on the field has worked for us. All round, it's been a complete series for us," said Kohli.
"We've been playing some good cricket. We did not win three games on the trot in the shorter format before this, and now we have six in a row including the West Indies series," he added.
With the Test and ODI series his bag without much sweat, Kohli now turned his focus on the upcoming limited-overs series against Australia later this month. Australia will tour India for a five-match ODI series and three T20Is. Kohli said the good show in Sri Lanka will boost the confidence of his side when they take on Steve Smith's men.
"It will be a challenging series against Australia. We have been playing some good and consistent cricket for some time. So, this series win in Sri Lanka should boost the confidence of the boys," Kohli said.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan captain Upul Tharanga said it was a difficult period for his team.
"It is a very difficult time for us. We were not up to the standard. We have to improve all three departments, especially our batting. We couldn't get those big scores in all five games. We lost a few main players, but still I feel we didn't play to our standard.
"It was a good toss to win. We lost a few early wickets. Thirimanne and Mathews had a good partnership. At one stage we were looking for 260-270. Unfortunately we collapsed again," he said.
Man-of-the-series Jasprit Bumrah said: "It's my first visit to Sri Lanka and I'm glad I did well. I was focusing on my preparation, I had time to rest before this series and it makes you hungry."
"It's always a dream to play Test cricket, but I'll wait for my chance," he said when asked about the prospects of making it to the Indian Test team.
Asked about getting tips from Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga, he said: "It's been a long journey with Malinga and I've learnt a lot. I just want to learn and become a better bowler.
