India vs England 2021: Yohan Blake Hails England For Victory And Praises Virat Kohli's Captaincy

Former World Champion Yohan Blake congratulated England for their victory in the first Test while praising India captain Virat Kohli for accepting the shortcomings and not giving excuses. England pulled off a huge win through Root and Anderson’s performances in Chennai by a margin of 227 runs and India was clearly outplayed in all the departments in their own backyard.

Yohan Blake is the second-fastest runner in the world after Usain Bolt in 100m and 200m has always been a follower of test cricket and he was in awe of the way the match went between India and England at the Chepauk. India after a historic series win in Australia looked totally out of socks in the first test and will need a huge performance to get the momentum back on track.

Yohan Blake Impressed With Kohli’s Responsibility

Yohan Blake lauded England’s skipper Joe Root and the veteran James Anderson for their extraordinary show in the first test. He was also impressed with the way Kohli backed his team and accepted the mistakes instead of giving excuses. Kohli took the blame on himself for the poor performance from the Indian team and Blake loved the way the Indian skipper accepted the flaws.

“Whoah! What a wonderful Test between England and India. I must say, ‘Joe Root well played, England team well played’. Jimmy Anderson as usual… They say you get better with age, it is just a number. And ‘Jimmy keep on showing that. Well done Jimmy’.

“What I really love about Team India is that Virat Kohli doesn’t find any excuses. That’s what I really love about his captaincy, he took the blame for everything. He said the bowlers didn’t find the right areas, the batsmen were not as consistent. He said ‘we got to go back to the drawing board and come back’. And that’s what I love about Virat Kohli and his captaincy,” Yohan Blake said.

“What Stood Out For Me Was Shubman Gill” – Yohan Blake

Yohan Blake was in praise of the youngsters Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant for the way they have come out during the pressure put on by the opponents. He told the reason behind his love for test cricket being the mental battle and credited Pujara for his tough show in Australia.

“And also what stood out for me was Shubman Gill, he’s a wonderful batsman. Ofcourse, Rishabh Pant is excellent. Not every time he’s going to put on a show but he’s excellent for the game of Test cricket. That’s why I love Test cricket, it mentally tests you. (Cheteshwar) Pujara in Australia showed that wonderful fight and that’s what I love to see.

“Test cricket is absolutely the best. Second Test should be interesting, India was 1-0 down in Australia, they are 1-0 down at their home ground now. The second Test, I’m looking forward to it,” Yohan Blake maintained in a video.

India will come to all guns blazing in the next test as a win for England will take Joe Root’s men to the final of World Test Championship.