India vs Australia: 'We thought four quicks would be enough,' says Virat Kohli after losing Perth Test
Virat Kohli
Australia beat India by 146 runs in the Perth Test to level the series 1-1 in a four-match Test series.
Despite Virat Kohli's century in the first innings, India were thrashed by a huge margin while chasing a target of 287 to win the match.
India resumed at 115 for five on the final day and lost the remaining for just 21 runs as they were dismissed for 140 on the fifth and final day.
In the post-match presentation, Virat Kohli praised the opponents, he said, "Australia played better cricket than us and they deserved to win."
Cricket pundits questioned Virat's unusual decision to play with four seamers and not picking a single spinner in the playing squad for Perth Test.
Spinner Ravi Ashwin was ruled out with an abdominal strain and Virat recalled Umesh Yadav ahead of Ravindra Jadeja.
India skipper Kohli said, "When we looked at the pitch, we didn't think about the Jadeja option. We thought four quicks would be enough."
He added, "We never thought about the spin option, to be honest."
Earlier, Mohammed Shami questioned the selection after the fourth day's play and said that he believed a spinner would have been a better decision.
Kohli praised spinner Lyon, who was given player of the match award, for his brilliant performance, saying, "Nathan Lyon bowled really well."
"With the skill levels and consistency that he has to get something out of this wicket was really good," Kohli added.
On being asked about India's bowling performance, Kohli said: "(Our bowlers) are outstanding as a pack, to see them dominate was really good to see and something we want to build on. They are relentless even if they aren't getting wickets which is a great quality."
The 30-year-old reacted on his controversial wicket saying, "It was a decision made on the field, it stays there. There is nothing more to it."
Asked about his 123-run innings in the first innings, Kohli said: "When you don't win you don't really rank your performances so it's irrelevant because we didn't get the result we wanted.
"I am focused on the next game and I hope I can contribute on a winning note."
"Boxing Day is going to be a full house, it's a memorable Test for all of us and we as a team are also excited and looking forward to that Test match," Kohli concluded.