New Delhi: Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma on Monday questioned England pace spearhead James Anderson's performance on Indian wicket after the latter stated that the home pitches hide the Indian Test skipper's flaws.
After Kohli scored his third double century of the year on day four of the successful fourth Test, Anderson said that the Indian captain's technical flaws are not visible because of the helpful Indian tracks which lack pace and movement.
Hitting back on Anderson, Rajkumar stressed that taking wickets only in England doesn't make him a great bowler, adding he has to perform well in India also in order to prove himself.
"I would say one thing. What he has done on Indian wicket? He is a great bowler. But he should also have done well on Indian wicket. If you are playing in England and taking wicket that doesn't make you great bowler.
"You have to perform well in India also. You need to take wickets here also before speaking anything about Virat. And the way Virat has treated him, he went wicket-less in the last match. How can he say so many things to somebody who is doing so well?" asked Rajkumar.
"If he would have got him out and then he would have said something like this, I would have accepted it. But at the same time I question his performance on the Indian track, what he has done on the Indian track," he told ANI in an exclusive conversation.
India, however, silenced all critics by registering a crushing win by an innings and 36 runs in the fourth Test in Mumbai against England to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the ongoing five-match series.
The match witnessed an all-round performance from the Indian side.
While scorching knocks by Kohli (235) and Jayant Yadav (104) helped India post a respectable first-innings total of 631 runs in reply to the opposition's total of 400, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's 24th five-wicket haul and seventh 10-wicket helped the hosts bundle out England for 195 runs in their second innings.
"It was a comprehensive victory. We have defeated England badly and squarely in all three departments of the game. It was badly required as we had lost earlier two series against them. So, I won't call it revenge but it is a very sweet victory for India," Rajkumar said.
Kohli, who was declared 'Man of the Match', became the first Indian skipper to score three double-tons in Test cricket. It was his first double century in Tests against England. He reached the milestone in 302 balls with 23 fours but no sixes
Heaping praise on Kohli's innings, Rajkumar admitted that it is by far one of the best innings he has seen from the Indian batting mainstay.
"It was a difficult condition. England had scored 400 runs and we are chasing 400 runs on a difficult wicket. But the way he has batted it was a tremendous innings I would say, one of the best innings I have seen from Virat. He batted superbly and I wish he continues his form," he said.
India, who are now unbeaten for 17 matches in the longest format of the game, will now play the dead rubber fifth Test match against England beginning on December 16 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
