Indias captain Virat Kohli was impressed with his teams tenacity as they fought back to draw the first Test against England in Rajkot having trailed it for the majority of the contest. With just two defeats in 18 Tests under Kohlis leadership, India have rarely been faced with the challenge of saving a game, especially on home soil. In the circumstances, the captain felt they had adapted well and learnt new skills.The pitch afforded substantial turn and bounce on the final day, with Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali and Zafar Ansari bowling accurately enough to merit five or six close catchers. All this meant the lower-middle order just about managed to get India to safely.Well, at least we know how to draw games now, Kohli who made 49 not out in the second innings, said. Before that, some people obviously were sceptical about our side knowing how to draw games. We won games or we lost games. I spoke with [Ravindra] Jadeja out there that it was an opportunity for both of us to improve on another aspect of the game.Maybe in Test cricket in the future, we will have this situation again. Maybe we will have to apply ourselves again and show character, so have the intent to get runs in between but play percentage cricket, figure out areas where you want to take ones or hit boundaries, but at the same time, be sure of your defense as well. So, it was a challenging situation but one that we countered really well, I thought.Vital to India not falling too far behind was R Ashwin. His first-innings half-century afforded England a lead of only 49 after they had put on 537. Then his 15.2-overs worth of fight with Kohli in the second innings steadied the hosts after they were four down with at least 25 overs left to stumps.We looked at it as an opportunity for us to know how to play in this situation, Kohli said. The best learning is in the game. You can practice all you want in the nets, but only way you know how to make runs is when you understand how they are done.When you are put under pressure, if you bat out the innings, if you play a draw, then you understand as a team when you need to switch gears and trust your defense and slow the game down. Those things are very important to learn as a Test side if you have to be consistent over a period of time and not just a shot in the dark.We took the opportunity and thats why you saw Ashwin and Jadeja applying themselves really well. Otherwise, there would have been a lot more panic if you did not look forward to the situation. It is very important to want to be there.When asked to explain why he chose five bowlers Kohli began by expressing his thoughts on the pitch. I was quite surprised to see that much grass, to be honest. It should not have been the case.Secondly, I thought Ashwin was batting really well, he scored a lot of runs for us this year, so also Saha. Those two are confident, plus its Jadejas home ground. So we backed him to get a few runs for us. That gave an opportunity to play Mishra, an extra spinner. So at least, we had all our bases covered.With five batsmen, we ended up getting close to 500, and even batted out the second innings as well. Again, it gives us belief as a batting unit. So, going ahead, we can still play an extra bowling option and keep putting pressure on the opposition. It was something you can look forward to it or feel that you dont have an extra batsman and go into a negative mindset. I think the guys applied themselves very well.Adding to the theme of learning was DRS. In the final innings, Cheteshwar Pujara was lbw to Rashid off a leg break that pitched outside leg stump. He did not take the review, and when he walked up to his partner for a consultation, M Vijays body language suggested he thought it was out too.One thing I saw was its very important for non-striker to stay as close as possible to the stumps, Kohli said. From a little wider from the stumps, the line of the ball is never judged, you always feel like that the ball is straight but its actually pitching outside the line. So thats what we spoke about, its important to stay close to the stumps, keep figuring out where its pitching and be more aware to help out your partner.That might be an important thing in a Test match in an important situation you might not take the DRS like today with Pujara. Those things can be corrected. With DRS you can only do what is in our control and that is to be precise and as aware as possible. Obviously youre going to make mistakes, the umpires call and all that come into play as well. 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One who gave it up a couple of years ago was 63.Top players who make it their habit to thank the ball boys and ball girls in their victory speeches on tour have been seen giving double-takes when handed a ball or towel by grownups.I see many adults, says No. 1-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic. I dont know if all of them are adults, but theyre doing their job very well.While the very idea of ball men and ball women has been lampooned over the years -- most notably on TVs Seinfeld when Kramer finds a way to bungle the great ball man experiment -- its a point of pride for the hardy few who have actually done one of the most coveted minimum-wage jobs in sports. And U.S. Open officials say there are plenty of wrinkles, so to speak, at this particular Grand Slam that make older ball people a sensible choice.For one, the two-week U.S. Open normally straddles the Labor Day weekend, when the school year kicks in and labor laws prevent kids from working extended hours, especially at night.The older ballpersons are gold in the night matches, says Cathie Delaney, a U.S. Tennis Association pro who manages the day-to-day court assignments for ball people who can be as young as 14. Some of these matches go until 2 a.m. We cant have a 14-year-old on the subway at 2 a.m.And then theres the U.S. Opens distinction of being the only major in which the ball persons move the balls around the court by throwing them rather than rolling them, which on changeovers can mean 80-foot, baseball-like guns from one end of the court to the other. Over the three weeks of work -- through the qualifying rounds, the main draws, junior, college and wheelchair events -- all that throwing can take a toll on young arms.Former college baseball player Yitz Liberman answered the call several years ago, not out of a particular devotion to tennis but because he knew he had a rocket arm. Now, the 34-year-old adjunct professor of Judaic studies at Yeshiva University has worked his way up to the position of crew chief in some of the top matches in Arthur Ashe Stadium.Theres a lot going on around you.dddddddddddd Its my job to keep everyone focused and everyone in line, says Liberman, who high-fived his mostly teenage crew when they were assigned Venus Williams match in front of more than 23,000 fans.Dressed in identical blue uniforms, the six-person crew marches on and off the court like soldiers. In a choreographed flourish, they fan out onto the court to their assigned spots, the runners at the net who scamper for loose balls, and the throwers at the end who bounce the balls to the players and handle their sweaty towels.Tina Taps, who has been in charge of the ball persons since 1989, says she doesnt care about age, only a love of the tennis and the ability to make it through tryouts, which involve sprints, agility drills and throwing competitions. Each summer, about 400 people try out for just 80 rookie spots.Its a hard job, she said. More mature ball persons can deal with the heat and the various things that occur on the court and can teach the younger ones to persevere.One of those vets is Laray Fowler, a 32-year-old sales associate from Great Neck who has worked every U.S. Open since she was 14. She specializes in knowing and anticipating the on-court likes, dislikes and nuances of some of the games biggest stars, including Serena Williams.Its kind of like I know what she wants without her even having to ask, says Fowler, who, for reasons that have never been explained to her, ends up getting assigned to just about every Serena match.So will there ever come a day Fowler will give up being a ball person? No way, she says. Im going to do this until I cant walk anymore.For Parimoo, the 55-year-old rookie from Warren, New Jersey, taking his place on court is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. It began in his native India when he watched Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert and Bjorn Borg at the Open on television and noticed the youngsters chasing the balls across the court. What do these kids have to do to be in this tournament? he wondered. They must be super smart or special.When his 15-year-old son, Shray, tried out this summer, he took his dad with him. Amazingly, they both made it.In one of his first assignments, Parimoo handled the towel in a doubles match for one of his idols, Martina Hingis. But his biggest honor came this week when he was assigned to work as part of the same crew with his son.It reminded him once again of the biggest advantage he has over younger ball people: perspective.This is a privilege, he says. I enjoy every minute I am here. I may not be able to do it tomorrow. ' ' '