Nagpur: Elated after the series win over South Africa, India skipper Virat Kohli lauded his team, especially off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who clinched a match-winning 12 wickets in the third Test which ended in a 124-run victory for the home side here on Friday.
“Ashwin is a world-class spinner, he stepped up in a big way for us, maybe the best in the world at the moment,” Kohli said at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.
“We expected them to string in a partnership or two. This is what Test cricket is, we need patience with the ball and believing a chance will come. Amit Mishra showed great character in that period.”
Man of the match Ashwin currently is the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket in 2015 with 55 scalps, four ahead of English pacer Stuart Broad.
With the win here, India have now taken a winning lead of 2-0 in the four-match series ahead of New Delhi Test that will be played from December 3 to 7 at the Ferozeshah Kotla. India won in Mohali, but the Bengaluru match was washed out due to rain.
India had earlier lost to the Proteas the Twenty20 International as well as the One-Day International (ODI) series which were held ahead of the Tests.
“Very pleasing indeed, especially because they won the ODI and T20I series. Some good cricket in Mohali, Bengaluru and here, feels very good. We played some good cricket,” added the India skipper.
The right-handed batsman added that the ‘rank-turner’ was a challenging wicket but it all boiled down to application.
“It was a challenging wicket, the batsmen applied better in Mohali. It is all about application. There are no excuses on that, our batsmen showed character in three innings,” said the top-order batsman.
“Sometimes you have conditions where it is going to be bowler-friendly, chances can be created. Spinners have had an upper hand in the series. Sealing the series was very important, Delhi will be an opportunity for us to be more consistent.”
The Proteas, who resumed at 32-2 chasing a target of 310, folded up for 185 in their second innings after tea on the third day on a dusty, deteriorating pitch.
Off-spinner Ashwin followed his 5-32 in the first innings with 7-66 in the second to take his tally in the series to 24 wickets in five innings so far.
Proteas captain Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis put on the highest partnership in the Test of 72 runs, scoring 39 apiece, but no other batsman touched 20.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra removed both batsmen in the space of six deliveries just before tea, ending the resistance by the flat-footed tourists against the turning ball.
India have now won eight of their last nine Tests on home soil — all inside three days — having routed Australia 4-0 and the West Indies 2-0 in 2013 before taking the first and third Tests in the current series.
The defeat marked top-ranked South Africa’s first series loss abroad in nine years after the 2-0 setback in Sri Lanka in 2006.
— IANS
