Virat Kohli lauds Team India's bench strength post 9-0 series sweep over Sri Lanka

It was the Indian skipper who led from front in the tricky chase of 171 runs, scoring 82 from 54 balls.

Reuters

New Delhi: Team India continued their rampant run to secure a historic 9-0 series sweep over Sri Lanka across all formats to conclude the tour with best possible outcome. Reflecting on the historic triumph, Virat Kohli lauded the team's bench strength which enabled him to try different things without compromising on the quality.

"Very special. It (the whitewash across formats) hasn't been done before. Credit to the boys. The bench strength is coming up beautifully. We tried a few things, the results are amazing to see," Kohli said in the post-match presentation.

It was the Indian skipper who led from the front in the tricky chase of 171 runs, scoring 82 from 54 balls. On the day, he also became the fastest to score 15,000 runs in international cricket and the hird-highest run getter in T20Is.

Reflecting on his innings, the 28-year-old said, "Personally, I look to back my strengths and play cricketing shots. I've tried to mould my game for all formats. I want to play all the games."

Sri Lanka captain Upul Tharanga felt his side were 15-20 runs short in the end, and also held special praise for his counterpart Virat Kohli.

"We were 15-20 runs short. We had a good start. Munaweera batted really well, but we lost momentum from overs 10-14. The way Virat batted was outstanding. He was an example for everyone, especially with his energy and running between the wickets," said Tharanga.

The Men in Blue never looked troubled in chasing Sri Lanka's 170, with Kohli blasting 82 and Manish Pandey securing a 51-not out to help India romp home with four balls to spare.

Earlier, Dilshan Munaweera clobbered four sixes in his 29-ball 53 and Ashan Priyanjan, playing his first Twenty20 International, chipped in with a run-a-ball 40 not out to help the hosts post a competitive total on board.

It was India's spin duo Yuzvendra Chahal (3-43) and Kuldeep Yadav (2-20) who shared five wickets between them to not let the hosts get away.

Team India now have a fortnight to rest before they welcome Australia at home.