Virat Kohli gave a brilliant reaction on X following India’s series win against England.
Virat Kohli may have broken his silence on social media last week when he announced the birth of his second child Akaay, but for the first time in months, the former captain posted something related to cricket following India’s series win over England on Monday. India beat England by five wickets to seal the 5-Test series with and thus taking an unassailable lead. No matter what happens in Dharamsala, India will lift the Anthony de Mello Trophy when the Test series concludes at the HPCA Stadium.
Virat Kohli’s reaction is all of us. (PTI-AFP)
The four Tests thus far have had everything barring Kohli. The India star withdrew three days ahead of the opener in Hyderabad before eventually pulling out of the entire series for obvious ‘personal reasons’. But while Kohli’s absence was expected to be a big deal, the emergence of youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel have more than filled his shoes, hence it was no surprise that Virat’s blockbuster reaction was an ode to India’s next generation of cricketers.
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“YES! Phenomenal series win by our young team. Showed grit, determination and resilience,” he posted on X.
And rightly so. After India lost the Hyderabad Test, each of the aforementioned youngsters have played a significant role. Jaiswal has led the pack with two double-centuries and a hundred to already tally 600-plus runs in this series, while Gill has rediscovered his mojo batting at No. 3 with scores of 104, 90 and 52. Sarfaraz made an explosive debut in the previous Test at Rajkot, peeling off fifties in both innings, whereas Jurel, only two-Test old, showed the maturity of a 50-match veteran in Ranchi.
Jurel comes of age
Jurel left behind Joe Root, Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav to win the Player of the Match award, and why not? Jurel’s contributions in both innings of the 4th Test were worth its weight in gold. With India tottering at 177/7, Jurel batted for almost four hours to score 90 and reduce the deficit to 46, when at one stage, England were poised to walk away with at least a 100-run lead. The next day, Jurel was at it once again, as with India down to 120/5 in chase of 192 and England spinners on top, he batted with the greatest of composures and stitched an unbeaten 72-run partnership to see his team through to win.
And of course, who can forget Akash Deep, the Bengal pacer who wrecked England’s top order in the first innings with a three-for. The India quick, making his debut replacing the one and only Jasprit Bumrah began in rampaging style, reducing England to 112/5 with one of the greatest opening spell of fast bowling in recent memory.
The only new face who has been a miss for India is Rajat Patidar and his dodgy form. In six innings, the 27-year-old has managed to score just 63 runs with a best of 32.
