'Dhoni knew Kohli was ready'
© AFP
After helping India notch up a gutsy draw in the third Test against Australia at the MCG, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from the longest formet of the game. While he bid farewell to Test whites after featuring in 90 matches, he singled out his mercurial deputy Virat Kohli for a superlative batting effort despite some heavyweight verbal duels with the hosts. Kohli slammed his Test best of 169 and 54 to amass 499 runs in six innings so far and Dhoni rightly called it a fantastic effort.(Dhoni Retires From Tests)
Kohli - who will captain India in the fourth and final Test Down Under - top scored for his side in both innings of the Boxing Day Test. His record fourth wicket stand of 262, the highest away from home between two Indian batsmen was the reason the tourists walked out with their heads held high. "Kohli has been fantastic. He takes the opposition on but has batted really well. His partnership with Rahane in the first innings was a fantastic display of batting, especially because both of them looked to attack the bowling. Secondly, they both made sure they converted it to big hundreds," said Dhoni who will now concentrate on ODIs and T20Is.('Dhoni Knew Kohli Was Ready')
India had stayed in the match even after conceding a first innings 530 to the Aussies. At one stage, the visitors were cruising along at 3/409 before Rahane's wicket triggered another collapse. This was not the first time in the series that India caved in under pressure - they were well on course for victory at the Adelaide Oval, chasing a stiff target before Murali Vijay's dismissal for 99 in the last session of the final day allowed Australia to bounce back.(Dhoni Happy With Draw)
"We have found ways to get ourselves into trouble. We have got good partnerships in all the Tests, but then we played loose shots. If you are playing well, then you need to carry the momentum forward," Dhoni said after India had lost another series overseas.(Is Virat Kohli Ready to Replace Dhoni?)
The India captain however said he was confident his young players would have learnt their lessons from what has been a closely fought series. "When there is a bit of pressure on the youngsters, they start batting differently. In this Test, the bowlers learnt the lesson of bowling the right length and to the field."
Dhoni, who remained unbeaten on 24 and spent 11 overs with R Ashwin to steer India to safety admitted he had to endure some nervous moments in the closing stages of the game. "There was pressure in the last hour - the pitch was on the slower side and there was reverse swing. It was tough. All you had to do was mistime a shot and one of their close-in fielders would have come into business."
India and Australia will now clash for the fourth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 6.
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