Virat Kohli gifted Ravi Shastri the bottle of Champagne he got for being the MoM

After the end of the Lord’s Test where Team India lost the match by an innings and 159 runs the doors of the dressing room were closed. There was speculation about the talks that would be going on in there at that moment. A week or so later, the same team that was humiliated and left hanging 2-0 down in the series came back with a remarkable effort at Trent Bridge to make the equation 2-1. Skipper Virat Kohli was the Man of the Match but he passed it on to coach Ravi Shastri.

The Kohli-Shastri duo has been at the helm of affairs of the Indian team for over a year now and their bond is well known. Shastri had asked the team to show accountability, to clear their heads and go out there and perform, as he confirmed in the post-match press conference and that’s what they did.

Kohli on his part has been batting exceptionally, he scored his second hundred of the series and now has 440 runs in 3 Tests which is the best by a distance from among batters of both the teams. He won the MoM for his 97 and 103 and was awarded a Magnum champagne.

Soon after getting back into the dressing room he handed it over to Shastri and it is understood that it was a gift from Kohli who wanted to appreciate the head coach. Someone on Twitter also shared a snapshot of the moment.

Kohli hands over his champagne bottle to Shastri pic.twitter.com/D6v45Fxj1u

— Cricpidia (@cricpidia) August 23, 2018

Clinical performance

Team India completely outplayed England at Trent Bridge and won the Test match comprehensively by 203 runs. After the conclusion of the game, Shastri said, “What we demanded of the boys was accountability. We came out here to try and win this Test match, and it’s about applying yourself and executing your plans in the best possible way.

For him, this was the team’s best win overseas from the time he has been around as the coach.

“You can’t ask for more. In the years I’ve been doing this job, on overseas tours, I’ve not seen a more clinical performance. Sometimes you have the bowlers doing extremely well, or a couple of batters, but to have an all-round performance like this where you catch well, you bowl well, and bat well is very rare. Hats off to the guys.

He further emphasized that this team wants to be the best travellers and not just dominate opponents at home.

“It’s a conscious effort from this side to be the best travelling side in the world. Not just at home – we know we will thrash teams at home. There is no chance for opposition when they come to India, if we prepare tracks that suit us, but we want to go elsewhere and win,” he said while talking to Michael Atherton on SkySports.

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