The pace triumvirate of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav spearheaded a stellar bowling spell as the fast bowlers took 20 wickets in a match that lasted just over two and a half days. This was despite India missing Jasprit Bumrah, who has emerged as the team's strike bowler since his Test debut in early 2018.
"These guys are on top of their game, when they bowl, it looks like any pitch is a good pitch, Jasprit isn't here but this is a dream combination for any captain. Having strong bowlers is the most important thing in any team. The numbers and records are there for everyone to see, that'll remain in the books, we haven't focused on it," said Kohli.
The 31-year-old said that he was telling Mayank Agarwal to play on throughout the opener's extraordinary innings to ensure that his personal score gets as big as possible. Agarwal smashed his third century and the second double ton of his nascent Test career and had accumulated 243 runs before being dismissed on Day 2.
The second Test at Eden Gardens will be the first that India will play with the pink ball. "The pink ball Test is going to be exciting, will be a challenge for the batters. With the older ball, it doesn't swing that much so the bowlers will have a challenge. We're just happy to be among the first to play pink ball cricket for India. The crowd has been brilliant, these guys give us the extra motivation to push extra when we're tired," Kohli said.