Virat Kohli hails Team India after 317-run win over England in 2nd Test

Indian skipper Virat Kohli hailed his side, saying that their 317-run victory in the second Test over England was an example of "grit and determination" before adding that the fans present in the stand were a "big part of that."

India scored 329 and 286 in the second Test against England in Chennai and bowled out the opponents for less than 200 in both the innings. With the win on Tuesday, Kohli's side has levelled the ongoing four-match Test series 1-1 after losing the opening Test at the same venue last week.

"It was a bit strange in the first game to be playing at home with empty stands. We were pretty flat on the first two days over there to be pretty honest, myself included, didn't pick up energy on the field. But from the second innings onwards in the first game, we picked up and were on the money in terms of our body language.

The crowds make a big difference, this game was an example of grit and determination and the crowd is a big part of that. Chennai crowd are very intelligent, they understand their cricket really well. In a 15-20 minutes period where the bowler needs the support of the crowd, it is my responsibility to involve everyone and bring in the crowd. If I am running and bowling in this heat, I need people to motivate me," Kohli said during the presentation ceremony.

Kohli said that game was "perfect" for his side and was certain that the toss wouldn't have affected the end result, considering Team India scored 600 runs in the match.

It is a perfect game for us. The conditions were challenging for both sides, but we showed more application with the bat. We didn't panic out there looking at the turn and bounce, we showed grit, got into the game and scored 600 runs in the game.

We know our bowlers would do the job for us if we put up these runs.

The toss wouldn't have mattered much in this game to be honest, because if you looked at our second innings, we got 300 as well. It wasn't unfair if the toss went either way. Both teams should be in the game from the first session onwards, whether it is on spinning to seaming tracks, and that exactly was the case in this game," added Kohli, who has equalled an MS Dhoni record on Tuesday.

With the win in the second Test, Kohli became the joint most successful Indian captain in Tests at home, equalling Dhoni's record of 21 wins. Kohli has captained the team in India in 28 Tests, with just two losses and five draws. Dhoni, on the other hand, had 21 wins after captaining the side in 30 Tests at home with three losses and six draws.

Overall, Kohli has won 34 Tests, having led India in as many as 58 Tests. Dhoni had claimed 27 wins in 60 Tests as India captain.

Kohli later took to social media to express his delight after winning the second Test in Chennai. "Superb character and fighting spirit on display. Well done boys. The focus is now on the next one," wrote Kohli on Twitter.

Superb character and fighting spirit on display.🙌 Well done boys. The focus is now on the next one. 🇮🇳💪 pic.twitter.com/TEVceiOhYM

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) February 16, 2021

India has already pipped England in the table of World Test Championship (WTC) 2019-21. The win in the second Test gave India 30 points. Notably, India (460 points and 69.7 % PCT) are ahead of England (442 points and 67 % PCT) on the percentage of points won by them out of the total number of points contested.

New Zealand have already qualified for the WTC final, which is scheduled to be played in June at Lord's. The result of the ongoing Test series between India and England will determine which team will face off the BlackCaps in the prestigious final.