Virat Kohli’s Team India won the Oval Test by 157 runs on the fifth and final day. In the process, they took a 2-1 lead in the series. The fifth Test will start at Manchester from October 10 with both teams having just a couple of days to prepare themselves for the final Test. Meanwhile, former England skipper Michael Vaughan has hailed Kohli’s captaincy for the way he led his team in the game.
Virat Kohli used his bowlers well with England requiring 291 to win on the final day. He was more focused and had intent in his bowling changes and his field placements.
“I have to say, the captaincy today of Virat Kohli was [top-class]. Just staying in early, starting with the seamers, didn’t overattack, put a couple of boundary riders, knew exactly when to turn to Jadeja, knew exactly when to turn to Shardul Thakur, those three short mid-wicket [fielders] were always a threat when the ball was tailing in… It always helps when you got someone like Jasprit Bumrah to bowl a spell that was right around the best I have seen on that kind of wicket. But Virat had a fantastic day tactically, just always ahead of the game,” Michael Vaughan remarked in an interaction with Cricbuzz.
Virat Kohli Produced A Tactical Masterclass: Michael Vaughan
That has been 5 days of great Test cricket .. India far too strong overall .. I thought @imVkohli produced a tactical masterclass today out in the middle .. was always ahead of the game .. knew exactly how to play this morning then pounced when it started reversing #ENGvIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 6, 2021
Michael Vaughan further said that the Indian bowlers gave the perfect example of how to bowl on flat wickets. The Oval final day pitch was relatively good for batting and the Indian bowlers exploited the conditions well to break England’s batting lineup.
“It’s been a wonderful Test match, whoever you support, it’s been five days of intriguing cricket… I have not enjoyed the result but I enjoyed think India gave England a lesson on how to bowl when the pitch is quite flat. When the pitch doesn’t offer you a great deal, you got to think out of the box, bowl a bit quicker, create angles, really polish the ball to get the reverse swing. It was a fantastic day for India,” Michael Vaughan concluded.
