Cricket is one of the most loved sports in India and is played every nook and corner of the country. In recent times we have seen the eruption of Twenty20 Cricket began in August 2005 between Australia and New Zealand. But the sports got the attention of the cricket lovers was during the first Twenty20 Cricket World cup when Southpaw Yuvraj Singh lit the stadium alive by hitting Stuart Broad for 6 Sixes in a memorable match of India’s victorious campaign. It has given tough competition to the Test format.
Test cricket is still valued and respected by the players as it provides unlimited opportunities for real-time performance against their counterparts. Players have to fight it out with every ounce of what they have till the sunsets. The longer format tests a player’s determination, patience, approach, and level of preparedness for the highest level.
ICC has taken a positive step by conceptualizing the World Test Championship to make Test cricket popular among the fans buzz by introducing a world title to be won by the team. For the first time we spectators got to see the players wear jerseys with their names and numbers on it, as in the limited-overs formats. The inaugural ICC World Test Championship edition will see top nine Test teams — Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies.
During the media interaction with the media, Virat Koli spoke about his views on ICC introducing ICC World Test Championship edition and was quoted saying that, “We are awaiting the ICC World Test Championship with great enthusiasm as it adds context to the longest format of the game,” Kohli said in an ICC media release. Test cricket is very challenging and coming out on top in the traditional form is always highly satisfying. The Indian team has done well in recent years and will be fancying its chances in the championship.”
Indian Cricket Team under the leadership of Virat Kohli played superbly against West Indies to win the series by 257 runs at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica to complete a 2-0 whitewash over the hosts. The win gave Virat Kohli and boys their first series triumph in the ICC World Test Championship and taking them to the top of the table with 120 points. Virat Kohli has broken another record by becoming India’s most successful Test captain by surpassing former India skipper MS Dhoni’s record with his 28th Test win.
Virat Kohli now has the most Test wins as India captain (28 wins in 48 matches), who is followed by MS Dhoni (27 wins in 60 matches), Sourav Ganguly (21 wins in 49 matches) and Mohammad Azharuddin (14 wins in 47 matches).
The series was more fruitful as the team worked in tandem and achieved the desired result. The bowler’s department consisting of Ishant Sharma (2/37), Mohammed Shami (3/65), Jasprit Bumrah (1/31 in 11 overs) and lone spinner Ravindra Jadeja (3/58) maintained a tight leash on the opponent batsmen.
The tour also marked the finding of new talent in Hanuma Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane who found it get back in form. Vihari emerged as the leading run-getter in the series with 289 runs, including a ton and two half-centuries. Rahane, India’s vice-captain, went on to score 271 runs, consisting of a century and two fifties, in the four innings he played in the Caribbean Islands.
Former West Indies fast bowler legend Ian Bishop during the post-match presentation, reminded Kohli of his record and was quoted saying that, “Being the most successful Test captain? It’s a by-product of the team we have. Our bowlers are amazing. Shami was great, Ishant bowling his heart out, Jadeja bowling a long spell. Captaincy is just a ‘C’ in front of your name. It’s a collective effort.”
The skipper further added, “Pretty comprehensive again. Played really good cricket over four days. Getting a result in the manner that you want is crucial. Were in some tricky situations. Took a lot of character from the boys collectively. For us, it’s just the start of the Championship. Whatever’s happened in the past is irrelevant. Look forward to keeping continuing playing good cricket.”
Vikramroymehta's Blog 