Excerpts from the press conference:
How does it feel to complete a series victory in West Indies?
Team's feeling really good, especially because we didn't have a day of play in Jamaica and fifth day was really testing for us. Didn't get the result we wanted. Here also we played two good days of Test cricket, then lost Day 3, but again bowlers came back and executed what we wanted to on Day 4. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was amazing in the afternoon - picking up 5 wickets for 28 runs on that wicket in 24 overs was a great spell. That really changed things around for us. Not to forget first innings (knocks from) Wriddhiman Saha and Ravichandran Ashwin - the way they batted was really top class Test cricket as well. So the team is really happy. Obviously we are really glad that we could execute our plans and wrap up the series here. So we can play with more positive intent in Trinidad and express ourselves fully and understand the areas we still need to improve on as a Test side. But all in all, the team is really happy that we had four days but we could still finish off a Test match with one and a half sessions to go.
Reason behind making three changes for the Test?
Usually if you see, very few people like change. This team doesn't think how others would react or what they might say. We put out a combination that's best according to the pitch. When I came at No.3 many people asked why I did it. But I am not fixated by my batting spot. If the team needs, I can open the batting too because that's the rule applicable to everyone in the team. It's not as if I will stay at No.4 and others will shuffle their positions. To field a player like Rohit Sharma we had to make him bat at No.5. To make that happen the other players will go one place up the order. That's we did. In bowling we replaced Umesh with Bhuvi because we felt that since the ground is so good it would be easier to maintain the shine on the ball. The pitch was also hard so there was carry. Bhuvi gave us the results, gave us breakthroughs with the second new ball. If you make three changes, you might feel that it might be too strong a reaction. But we realised that if we have to seal the series here then we had to make changes according to the conditions. We will not wait for another match because you never know if you play one or two bad sessions the series could be levelled. Our idea was that we have to seal the series here.
Thoughts on back-to-back series wins?
Winning is the most important thing for any team. Obviously playing good cricket is, but they say, as a batsman, you like to score runs in every game you play. So as a team you want to win every match you play. That has to be the intent. And when you execute that, it gives you a lot of confidence as a team. This morning we spoke to the bowlers. The fielders have their job to do in terms of getting those 30-40% chances and making them into clean catches. Plus the bowlers know what to do. More than bowling the other team out, they should remember the execution of today because we will be in situations on day 5 when we need to bowl out teams again. Last time we could not but this time we executed it. They are improving every game and they are getting the idea of how to pick wickets in difficult situations which is always pleasing for a team. So we are very happy. We have won three back-to-back series now. The team is shaping up really beautifully and everyone is very close to each other. They are gelling well and there is a great environment in the change room.
A word on the all-round efforts from the players?
See, individually people have to stand up and show character. You will not be able to execute all the time but the intent and what you think about the game is very important. Someone like Bhuvi coming in, he thought about this as an opportunity rather than a pressure situation of having to perform. If everyone can stay in that mindset, it's obviously good for the team and that is the only way you can execute what you want. You are in a positive frame of mind. If you are skeptical, if you are hesitant you will not get the result. I think everyone was hungry to change things around after Jamaica, because we understood that we have the momentum, we are playing good cricket, we are on top in every Test match, so we need to finish things off. I am really glad people stepped up at the right times and did the job for us. Even Saha and Ashwin in the first innings, that was probably the most important partnership in the series. We had quite a few but that for me stands out till now in terms of where the series has gone. We have been able to seal the game because of the effort of those two. If we lost two more wickets, you never know, we wouldn't have been on top in the Test match. Lot of credit goes to those two as well.
How easy is it to be an aggressive captain when you have the likes of Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar bowling to plans?
It helps massively. That is one area where we all know that we needed improvement in the last couple of years. Apart from that one session in Jamaica and one in Galle, I think we've been able to control the scoring really nicely. Not just at home, but away from home as well. That's one good thing about this team. We brought in Jadeja, he gives you a lot of control, he creates pressure for the other bowler. You might not realize the importance he has in the bowling unit, because you might not see 4-5 wickets in front of his name, but the kind of pressure he creates for others is priceless. That's bowling in partnerships. He does that job beautifully for the other bowlers.
Ashwin is obviously very consistent, he's a world class spinner. Bhuvi again very consistent. Even Shami is very consistent, you might not look at him and say that he doesn't look like someone who can pitch the ball in one area because he bowls fast. But, his line and lengths are very attacking and consistent at the same time.
Ishant is a banker. He comes in and bowls at those pressure areas. We have a good bowling unit going on, but if you are in control in the middle, then the economy doesn't go over two. That's exactly what happened in the first innings, even though they were 180/1, we had bowled eighty overs. You can always take the new ball and come back into the game. That makes a massive difference in a batsman's head and that can only happen when you have guys who can bowl with control.
Thoughts on players managing to express themselves on the field?
I don't think they've left anything in terms of expressing as a team. We know exactly the right kind of balance, which game of the series we're playing, and how we have to play it. Obviously, you want to start of the series with a very positive intent so you can be one up. But then you need to play calculative cricket. You can't be stupid. You can be aggressive, but you've to be calculative at the same time. We have to play smart cricket. If it wasn't for the fifth day in Jamaica, we probably wouldn't have done what we did in the first session. We know that as a team, and we improved that in this game. Because it is the third game, we need to finish things off now. We can't leave things 1-0 till the last game. We needed to be smart. We wanted to play with their patience, and results came for us.
We understand that as a team, it's not about going all out in every session. That's not how a team expresses. Expressing means that you have to be smart in every session that you play. Expressing means showing intent but still defending for two hours because the team needs it. That's expressing your talent as well. Temperament is one of the major aspects of a cricketer. I think we have expressed ourselves very nicely according to the situation of the game.
Batting at No. 3, how do you set yourself?
Number three comes more naturally to me because I've played 170-180 ODIs and I've batted 130 T20Is at No. 3. I don't mind being into the game early. I've always been the kind of player who wants to get into the action quickly. This position, I don't mind too much either.
If I have to bat four, I will. I've batted at five in the past. Three, I haven't batted too much in Test cricket, but I've batted enough in other forms in international cricket to not feel uncomfortable. I'm pretty happy with that position.
Message to Indian Olympians in Rio and fans?
In an event like Olympics, we have to understand, firstly we need to look at how these athletes prepare. They give their heart and soul. And for some people to just ignore what they do, I think it is very hurtful. We need to give credit.
Even in cricket, you can't perform every game and you don't win every series. These guys go and give 100% effort in what they do, we understand that. Some people don't even have 10% of the facilities that sportsmen from other countries have. And then they sit and compare in our country.
They're giving their 120% effort, and at the end of the day, that is what matters. Once someone wins a medal, that's a big deal because we understand that we don't have those kinds of facilities, but still these guys work as hard as anyone else in the world. They try and go and win a medal for us.
I think we just need to stay positive with all the events that are left. We must give credit to the guys who have gone on and competed. If you see the disparity in facility, you will yourself know what you're talking about.
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