He might have called it a team effort and how the boys make him look good as the captain, but India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday became the first Asian captain to win a series in Australia. With the last day’s play in the fourth Test in Sydney being called off due to rain and India winning the four-Test series 2-1, Kohli also became the first Indian captain to win a series in Australia. With the win in Australia, Kohli now has won 4 series as captain away from home.

Virat Kohli said that he was proud to lead this group of players who have thrived to do well on foreign shores. “Firstly I want to say, I’ve never been more proud of a team than this one. The culture we’ve been able to build over the last 12 months. Our transition started here when I became the captain for the first time. Only one word to say, I’m proud. To lead these players is an honour and a privilege. They make the captain look good. Definitely deserve to enjoy this moment. By far this is my best achievement. Has to be on top of the pile,” he said.

Commenting on how this ranks with the 2011 World Cup win, Kohli said: “When we won the World Cup, I was a young player. I saw the others getting emotional. This series will give us a different identity as a team. What we’ve been able to achieve is something to be really proud of. That’s something that we spoke about, just wanted to go back to basics, not be flamboyant.”

Australia skipper Tim Paine made no bones about the fact that his boys were outplayed by the Indians in a series that ended 2-1 after the last game was drawn. Australia definitely had their moments, but India dominated major parts of the series and deserved the historic win.

“Tip our hats to India. We know personally going to India and playing in foreign conditions, how difficult it is. Congratulations to Virat and Ravi. Huge effort to come and win a series overseas. In the last two Tests, no doubt. Had our chances to win in Adelaide. India outplayed us in big moments in that Test. In Perth we did well. But we were outplayed in these last two Tests. So they deserve to win the series,” Paine admitted.

Paine though added that there were positives for the home team and that they would look to make the most of what they learnt from the four-Test series against the Indians.

“There’s always positives. I know there’s been a lot of gloom and doom of late. Got some talent in this team. Obviously got some talent who aren’t playing. They were playing against potentially the best pace attack in the world. Hopefully, they’ll learn,” he said.

First Published: Jan 07, 2019 11:23 IST