Calcutta: Virat Kohli feels Bhuvneshwar Kumar's opening burst, when he removed both the openers, contributed immensely to India's 50-run victory at the Eden on Thursday.
"We didn't feel like we had enough runs on the board at the break. But we knew if we got a good start, we had a good chance of defending it," Man of the Match Virat said at the presentation.
"We knew if we don't take wickets it would be difficult. To be honest, the wicket wasn't easy to bat on throughout the day. "Bhuvi's spell became even more important because we knew the wrist-spinners would do damage in the middle overs.
The deliveries he got the batsmen out were unplayable. You can count on Bhuvi for getting the breakthroughs," the Indian captain explained.
Virat praised hat-trick man Kuldeep Yadav, while not forgetting to mention Yuzvendra Chahal's contribution too.
"Two young wrist spinners bowling with a lot of heart... It speaks volumes about their characters. It really augurs well for us how the team is shaping up."
Virat scored 92 off 107 balls and said the motivation kept him going till the end.
"I always try to create that kind of motivation for myself. Sometimes things don't come off for you, but I try and stay in the same zone.
"It wasn't easy to bat, plus the bowling attack had quality as well. It came off today, so it looked nice. Didn't come off well in Chennai, so it didn't look nice," he remarked.
Kohli's counterpart, Steve Smith, admitted that the inability to create partnerships cost them dearly.
"We were pretty happy with 250 at the break. I thought we did a good job bowling-wise.
"The batsmen made too poor decisions under pressure. Marcus Stoinis was pretty good at the end...We need to make better decisions consistently. We are not executing our skills... Someone in the top-four needed to get in and play a long innings," he said.
"The wicket spun a little more in the second session. We're not just watching the ball closely enough. The guys are trying their best.
"It's a matter of not panicking and not making the silly errors. One or two of us had to get in and get a big score. Sadly, we weren't good enough on the day," he explained.
"The collapses are happening a bit too often. We need to stop this... We need to change what we are doing since things are not working. We need to make better decisions."
Smith didn't agree though that Kuldeep remained a mystery spinner to them.
"I thought we played him reasonably well. It was just that the tailenders couldn't handle him properly at that stage."
Hat-trick-man Kuldeep Yadav admitted it was dream come true. "I never dreamt about it... Initially I was struggling to bowl in a particular area. But it's a game of cricket and everything happens," the left-arm chinaman said.
"Last match, where I was hit for three sixes in an over, was a learning experience... This is special for me... It has changed the game for us. A really proud moment."
What were his thoughts before bowling the hat-trick ball? "I asked Mahi bhai what I should bowl... He said 'tujhe jaisa lagta hai wohi daal (bowl what you want)'".
