The Indian tour concluded at The Oval with a 118-run loss on the fifth and final day of the last Test. Captain Virat Kohli noted that while England deserved the win and the result was justified, the Indian squad wasn't simply outplayed; he argued they were competitive in every game except for the second one. The series was a rollercoaster: India suffered a crushing innings defeat at Lord’s but rebounded with a dominant performance in Nottingham. They had several golden opportunities to win the first, fourth, and fifth Tests. At Edgbaston and Southampton, England were reeling at 87-7 and 86-6 respectively, only to be rescued by Sam Curran. In the finale at The Oval, England were struggling at 181-7 before managing to dictate the game in the second innings after a narrow 40-run lead. Kohli mentioned that while they would reflect on missed chances, they felt good about their aggressive style of play. He explained that when two teams play without fear and push for a win rather than a draw, you get these kinds of results where the slightly better side prevails. He emphasized the importance of learning from their mistakes. Despite the loss, India kept their spot as the world's number one Test team. Personally, Kohli had a strong tour, amassing 593 runs at an average of 59.30, including two centuries (with a high of 149) and three fifties.
After the visitors ended their tour of England with a 118 run loss at The Oval on the fifth and final day, the Indian captain Kohli said, “I’m not saying it’s not a fair scoreline because they deserved to win, but it doesn’t mean that we have been outplayed,”
“Barring the second Test, we have been competitive in every game.”
The Indian side had lost an innings at the Lord’s but had bounced back with a huge win in the third Test at Nottingham.
But had chances to win in each of the first, fourth and the fifth Tests, during the Test at Edgbaston, the English side were 87-7 in the Southampton Test they were 86-6, on both these Tests Sam Curran came to their rescue.
At The Oval in the fifth Test, they were 181-7 taking control of the match only during the second innings, after gaining a lead of just 40 runs.
Kohli said,” There will be things that we will think about that could have been taken as opportunities,” said Kohli.
“We have no regrets in terms of the way played.”
“When both teams are going for wins you will have a result that looks like that,” said Kohli. “England don’t go for draws or play fearful cricket and we decided to play fearlessly as well.
“When that is the case, you will have competitive games, but the better team will win.
“We can take heart, but we also know we have to learn from the things that we didn’t do right.”
India remains as the world’s top-ranked Test side despite the defeat.
Virat Kohli had scored a total of 593 runs, averaging 59.30 with two centuries, a top score of 149 and three half-centuries.
