Virat Kohli on India’s No. 4: “We need to back Ambati Rayudu till the 2019 World Cup”

Virat Kohli on India’s No. 4: The Indian captain spoke about backing Ambati Rayudu and praised Khaleel Ahmed.

During the fourth match of the ongoing Windies’ tour of India at Mumbai, India defeated Windies by a mammoth 224 runs to gain a 2-1 lead in the series.

In terms of runs, this is India’s third-biggest win in ODIs, biggest at home and biggest against a Test opposition.

After captain Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat, India scored 377-5 in their allotted quota of 50 overs. Batting on a flat wicket, Rohit Sharma’s 21st and Ambati Rayudu’s third ODI century saw them sharing a 211-run stand for the third wicket and India posting a gigantic total.

Losing wickets from the word go, Windies were bundled out for 153 in 36.2 overs. Jason Holder, who came in to bat at No. 7, top-scored for his team scoring 54* (70) with the help of one four and two sixes.

With bowling figures of 5-0-13-3, Khaleel Ahmed was the pick of the Indian bowlers as he ran through the opposition’s middle-order. Watching him swing the ball like the way he did today must have given a lot of respite to the team management.

Speaking with Sanjay Manjrekar during the post-match presentation, Kohli threw accolades on the 20-year old left-arm medium-fast bowler. “Khaleel is an exciting talent. If the pitch has something to offer, he can extract something. Bowled in the right areas, not too full not too short. Happy to see him make the ball talk,” the Indian captain said.

Having lost the third ODI at Pune, India had to win the series to make sure that they don’t lose it. Witnessing his team put on display a ‘clinical’ performance, Kohli was quoted, “Definitely back on track [after the third ODI]. Ticked all the boxes, clinical in all three departments. We were put under a bit of pressure in the 3rd ODI, but we bounced back.”

While ‘Man of the Match’ Sharma dominated the proceeding at the top of the order, Kohli was contended to see Rayudu bat the way he did. Becoming the first batsman to score a century for India at No. 4 since January 2017, it speaks about the dearth that the team has faced in the last 21 months.

Kohli insisted on the fact that the team management will back him till the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. “Rayudu’s taken his opportunity with both hands, and we need to back him till the 2019 World Cup. He reads the game well, and he bats with intelligence,” Kohli added.

Read some of the latest Twitter reactions on India’s victory below: