India captain Virat Kohli said that the verbal altercation between England players and the two Indian tail-enders Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah spurred them to go flat out at the home team in 60 available overs.
“Super proud of the whole team. The way we stuck to our plans after being put in. The pitch didn’t offer much in the first three days. First day was the most challenging,” said Kohli at the post-match presentation.
“The way we played in the second innings after being put under pressure — Jasprit and Shami were outstanding. We had the belief we can get them out in 60 overs. The tension in the field in our second innings, what happened there, helped us,” Kohli, who had sledged Ollie Robinson during the fag end of the second innings, said.
It was India’s third Test win at Lord’s and Kohli called it a special one.
“Have been a part of the winning Test last time under MS (Dhoni). That was pretty special. But this one, to get a result in 60 overs is quite special. And especially with someone like Siraj playing for the first time at Lord’s and he bowled superbly.
“We decided 60 is our mark. Crucial breakthroughs with the new ball was the right start for us. Very happy with the support (crowd) we got,” he added.