India’s stand-in captain, Jasprit Bumrah, showered praise on Virat Kohli after his brilliant century helped India defeat Australia by 295 runs in the opening Test of the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth on November 25. Kohli’s determined knock of 100 from 143 balls in India’s second innings silenced his critics and was crucial in putting India ahead by 1-0 in the series.

Bumrah, who was named Man of the Match for his outstanding bowling performance with figures of 8/72, credited Kohli's experience and composure for India’s commanding victory.

"Virat Kohli doesn't need us, we need him. He knows what he needs to do here, the best. He has batted in tough scenarios all his life… he is in a great space. He got a good delivery in the first innings. We needed an experienced batter in the second innings and he delivered," said Bumrah during the post-match press conference.

Bumrah was elated with the win, expressing his pride at taking the 1-0 lead in the series.

"Really happy and proud of the win. To go 1-0 up. Lots of positives to take away," Bumrah added. He continued, “When you get out on a low score, sometimes bowlers get desperate. The message was clear to stick to the plans. Very happy to get the first Test win as captain. Even when I am not captain, I look to contribute as much as possible. Yesterday was almost as good as you want. The batters played long, bowlers got to rest. Yesterday was perfect. We wanted to bowl in the evening. We wanted 2 wickets but got more.”

With Rohit Sharma now in Australia, Bumrah was asked about the captaincy role moving forward. Bumrah made it clear that Rohit is the captain, and he is happy to step in as needed.

"Rohit Sharma is the captain of our side, I was just filling in. I am going to help in whatever capacity I can. When you do well, you get the positives but even when we don't do well, I don't go too down. Adelaide will be a pink ball, so we have to start from zero. I will never mind wickets having bounce and seam. I love watching pace bowling. I am very happy. It wasn't a bowling paradise but very happy with how the wicket was," Bumrah explained.