NEW DELHI: A day after India thrashed England by an innings and 64 runs in Dharamsala to win the five-match series 4-1, Rohit Sharma's men have climbed to the number one spot in Test cricket rankings. The Indian team moved past Australia who are now second in the table, according to the rankings released by the International Cricket Council late Saturday.
India suffered a 28-run loss at the hands of England in the opening Test match but bounced back in style to win the remaining four Tests to lift the trophy on Saturday.
After the series win, captain Rohit and head coach
Rahul Dravid
addressed Team India and gave a motivational speech.
"I want to thank personally to everyone for getting together and getting our act together. We wanted to respond under pressure. But that couldn't have been possible if all of us wouldn't have gotten into that thought process. I am extremely happy about that," Rohit said in a video shared by BCCI.
Dravid also lauded the team's terrific show in the series and hailed the team's show for winning the series despite going down in the opening Test.
"Firstly, a huge congratulations to everyone of you, the team, the players and support staff for a fantastic series. Think there were times in the series that we were really challenged, we were pushed and we really found a way to bounce back, to come back, just speaks to the skills that we have, the resilience that we have, the character that we have. Many occasions in this series where the games could have gone either way, but we always found people in this dressing room who stepped up and turned the game our way. I think that was fantastic," Dravid said.
"So you not only need to win the games when you have to fight back and you have to bounce back, which we did really well, but you have to also win the games when you're ahead and you don't let the opposition come back in any situation. So, well done on that as well. Great stuff. I spoke about this at the start of the series as well. Irrespective of whether we win or lose, this was going to teach us a lot. Five test match series. You're going to go through a lot of ups and downs. It's a long series. You're going to be tested and it was going to teach us a lot about us as players, as a team and a lot about you as people. And I think we've come through that exceptionally with terrific flying colors. We face challenges both on and off the field, but the way we've stuck together as a group I think has been absolutely phenomenal. For a lot of you young guys, especially coming into this group, you are going to need each other to succeed," he said.
"Whether you are a batsman or a bowler or whatever you are, your success is tied in with other people's success. All of you are invested in each other's success and I think that's really important going forward. It's not about your success, but it's about how you can help other people succeed, which will also help you succeed. So, well done on that. As a young group going forward, I hope that a lot of you will play together for a long time and support each other and help each other grow as players and as people. Series like this have to be earned. I think this is tough. Test cricket is hard at times. It's hard in terms of your skill. It's hard physically as you've seen. It's hard mentally. Test cricket is hard," Dravid said.
"It's not easy, but there's great satisfaction at the end of it. End of a series like this, the satisfaction that you get winning a series like this. Coming from one behind to be able to win four, I think is just phenomenal. There are going to be tougher challenges, there are going to be other challenges as we go forward. As long as we grow, as long as we learn, as long as we keep improving and stay tight as a unit, we'll be fine. Well done on that," he said.
"Just want to thank and acknowledge the support staff. Everyone in the support staff has been a long season for all of us as we are now going into our break, the support staff. So, it's been a really long season for everyone. To everyone in the support staff, our coaches and everyone in the background and the back room staff for all the efforts that you put in. It's a terrific bunch of professionals. I just love working with you guys. Really proud of what you guys have achieved. Good luck," Dravid concluded.
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