“We knew our abilities and we knew we should be good enough to do well on any surface and against any team”, Kohli told reporters.
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The Black Caps, who began the day on 28 without loss, had made a strong start in response to India’s commanding first innings score of 557 for five declared, but then lost five wickets for just 30 runs.
The series-clinching win at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens also came after four days where fast bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami played key roles on a two-paced track.
Guptill was unlucky to be run-out when Ashwin got his fingers off a Ronchi drive and deflected the ball onto stumps. “He has a tendency to lunge forward”. “So that’s one of the things I thought I would repeat in this series”, he explained about his excellently planned dismissal of the visiting team’s captain in the post lunch period. In the process, Ashwin picked up 21st five-wicket haul of his Test career.
“It (support) was very important, it was a very, very hard wicket to bowl on”.
“Unfortunately our guys couldn’t get in but we will have a massive chance to do so in second innings”.
His spin partner Ravindra Jadeja accounted for the other two wickets in the visitors’ innings.
“That’s Jaddu’s strength, he does it well”, he said.
Meanwhile, Latham was typically composed and silently brought up his fifty, but once Ashwin made the first breakthrough, the game was very different from there on.
This is regarded as an appropriate combination given the rich history of Test cricket and its image as the most traditional and purest form of the game.
“Not a mental block, more quality of his bowling in these conditions (pitch) which turn a lot”.
Wickets in Ashwin’s best-ever figures.
“That’s the right step we have taken”.
Umesh Yadav ensured that wouldn’t happen, trapping Latham leg before in the second over. That was the plan.
“It’s out of our hands as players, we’ve got nothing to do with it, it’s up to the umpires they make the call”, he said. “We are going to focus on that”. It depends on how many revs (revolutions) you give to the ball and the use of the shoulder.
“It was Anil Kumble’s idea in the tea break. I don’t see anyone talking about it now”, Kohli said. He also took to Twitter to express his happiness. I enjoy the conversations I have with him. The hosts were ranked number two, one point behind Pakistan, before the series against New Zealand.
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The only practical option for New Zealand once India set it the mammoth target was to bat for a draw.
