Monday Nov 11, 2024
FT
Monday Nov 11, 2024
Friday, 19 August 2016 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sumeda Ranasinghe finished at 18th place with 71.93 Q metres. Germany’s Julian Weber emerged number one with 4.46 Q metres – Reuters
Reuters: Indian test skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday (17) said his team will not get complacent after acquiring the number one ranking in the longest format of the game as they prepare to take on West Indies in final match of the series in Trinidad and Tobago.
India displaced Australia as the number one test team in the world after the latter lost three matches on the trot to Sri Lanka.
As a result of Australia being whitewashed 3-0, Pakistan has risen to number 2 in the International Cricket Council rankings.
If India is to remain at the top of the ladder, they will have to continue their dominance over the hosts in the fourth test.
Terming it as a “short term incentive”, Kohli said teams need to play good cricket for a sustained period of time to be the best in the world.
“I think to be the best side in the world, you need to play consistent cricket for a span of 3-4 years, that’s what we feel. This is a pretty immediate and short term incentive, that’s what I feel, you have to play good cricket for a sustained period of time to actually be the number one team in the world. We have played good cricket that is why we have climbed up the rankings,” said Kohli.
India lead the series 2-0 heading into the final game at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain.
Kohli said the team for the last test will be decided according to the weather conditions.
“Apart from the damp spots, the surface looked pretty dry, (it) should have turn and bounce, that’s the feeling I got but if we have rain for the next three days on and off then I am sure the seamers will get much more assistance. Even in the nets today, the seamers did get a lot of assistance, so as I said, I mean, we will have to keep enough players in the squad for us to change last minute, according to what the weather conditions are like and how much the wicket is going to stay under covers,” said Kohli.
India have shown a willingness to change their line-up to suit the conditions, using 15 players in the first three tests to demonstrate their depth.
For the West Indies, Trinidad offers a chance to salvage some pride and show the cricket world their well-documented decline has been overstated.
Inconsistency has been a huge problem with most of their batsmen making a decent score here and there but also getting dismissed cheaply as often as not.
