India captain Virat Kohli was pleased with the effort of his lower order batsmen for giving the team a handy first-innings lead, calling the runs scored by them 'gold dust'. After bowling India out for 183 in the first innings, India were in a precarious position having lost three quick wickets to be placed at 112/4, but a rear-guard effort by the lower order, especially the bowlers, took the total to 278, handing India a lead of 95 runs in the first innings.
The first Test ended in a draw after rain washed out the final day's play with India needed 157 more runs to win with nine wickets in hand. But Kohli was happy with the effort and said it was a result of the incredible amount of time and hard work the bowlers had invested in their batting. The India captain added that their performance in Nottingham is the blueprint the team will follow in the remaining four Tests of the series.
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"It's a hard work of three-odd weeks now. They have been in the nets regularly, wanting to contribute regularly, wanting to contribute to the team. Getting 50-plus runs from those three bowlers was like gold dust for us - we would have been talking about a lead of 40-odd and then we got to a lead of 95 purely because of their efforts," Kohli told the broadcaster after the first Test.
{{/usCountry}}"It's a hard work of three-odd weeks now. They have been in the nets regularly, wanting to contribute regularly, wanting to contribute to the team. Getting 50-plus runs from those three bowlers was like gold dust for us - we would have been talking about a lead of 40-odd and then we got to a lead of 95 purely because of their efforts," Kohli told the broadcaster after the first Test.
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"Just the grit and determination… you know, as opposition, when the bowlers gets runs it can be annoying. Most likely it will be a template going ahead in the series, but again, adaptability has been a strength of ours as well," he said. "This looks like the right template for us moving forward."
India's total of 278 was set up by half-centuries from KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, before a last-wicket partnership between Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj accounted for 33 runs off 26 balls.