Team dwelling on Mohali result, not pitch - Kohli

Virat Kohli has won his last three Test matches as India's captain, and his team leads an important series against South Africa, but appreciation of his players' skills has been overshadowed to a certain extent by talk of the conditions that helped them achieve their latest win in Mohali. Kohli, though, is not unduly bothered by the lack of praise coming his team's way.

"It's only disappointing if you are looking to take what is written or said to heart, or think about it too much," he said, on the eve of the second Test in Bangalore. "We focus on the process and don't really think about what's being written or what's being said.

"The fact of the matter is we won a Test match and that's what we feel good about as a team. We are not worried about any external factors or what's being discussed about things that are not in our control. If someone chooses to say or write about something which they feel is a topic of interest, that's their choice. It's up to us if we take it to heart or sit down and feel disappointed. We are not at all disappointed. We won a game of cricket. We are very happy about it."

One of the overlooked factors in India's Mohali win, according to Kohli, was their seam attack. Though Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron only picked up a wicket between them, in a total of 20 overs across two innings, Kohli felt they still contributed by keeping the runs in check - they only conceded 40 runs in those 20 overs.

"If those 20 overs go for 100 runs then you are not in a position to win a Test match," Kohli said. "So they played their role perfectly. It is important for the three guys bowling the most of the overs to have two guys after them who can also maintain the same momentum and control the run rate as well, which is very important in Test matches."

Either Umesh or Aaron will have to make way in Bangalore for Ishant Sharma, who returns to the side after serving a one-match ban. Kohli looked forward to the return of senior pace bowler, whose 13 wickets at 23.23 were crucial to India's success in Sri Lanka.

"With Ishant coming in, he brings in a lot of experience," Kohli said. "He's bowled well in subcontinent conditions, knows how to reverse-swing the ball, can lead the pace attack. The combination can or will change according to the conditions. So I would rather have a guy who will give me control in an important time in the game rather than someone who will just get the overs out of way. That combination has worked for us.

"We are just trying to figure out, according to the pitch and conditions, who will be doing more of the bowling and what stage in the game. I'm very delighted that Ishant is back. The way he is bowling and the way he bowled in Sri Lanka brings a lot to the table. It is not just about the spinners. We have quality seamers as well. We saw that in Mohali as well. For those two [Umesh and Aaron] to rush the batsmen on that sort of a wicket, takes a lot of heart, takes a lot of effort. So I was really happy to see that personally."

Also critical to the Mohali win were M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara. The second-wicket pair added 63 in the first innings and 86 in the second, utterly vital partnerships in a low-scoring match.

"We all are very proud of both of them, the way they batted in the last game," Kohli said. "We can learn a lot from them, the way they applied themselves. The batsmen didn't apply themselves as much as we wanted to as a batting group and we are aware of that. But not taking credit away from the way both of them batted. I think they kept us in the game throughout and that is very important I think, two guys standing up in each innings.

"Their contributions in both the innings were very crucial to us. I cannot be relaxed as a captain because I have to bat at four, so if I relax I will probably not be in the right kind of mindset to go out and play. But it is a nice feeling to see two professionals building a partnership and it is always a good feeling to know that you have two guys in front who know how to score runs and who know what they are doing out in the middle. It is always a very calming influence in the change room for the guys sitting outside or the bowlers.

"I hope they can keep going in the same way, they are doing a wonderful job. Vijay has been so consistent for us, Pujara has made a tremendous comeback, he is willing to play at any position and give the team a kind of flexibility. That is a great attitude to see from both of them, looking to improve each other and stringing in those consistent performances which are indeed making the team win. I am really, really happy about that and I hope they can continue in the same way."

With AB de Villiers set to play his 100th Test, Kohli had words of praise for his Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate, calling him a "genuine and good person".

"I want to congratulate him on playing his 100th Test," Kohli said. "As an individual, I know him well. He's a very genuine and good person. As an opponent he plays hard cricket. As a batsman, he's among the top four-five batsmen in the world. I cannot say much more than that. His game and the kind of person he is are there for all to see. For me, he's a very good cricketer and a very good person."