It all started in Australia, says India captain Kohli
NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli was already waiting for it, because it has been a part of every single press conference he has held in this series. He knew it was only a matter of time, and the press didn’t let him down.
“So, this match going for five days? What does it say about this pitch?,” asked one.
“I was waiting for this! Five, six questions and no questions on the pitch? No questions on whether the ball was turning? I was waiting,” an animated Kohli chirped.
The pitch has, indeed, dominated discussion, but India’s thorough beating of South Africa in the final Test, by 337 runs, had nothing to do with the conditions. Ajinkya Rahane was man of the match for his pair of centuries, Kohli himself weighed in with 44 and 88, while man of the series, Ravichandran Ashwin, again took a hatful of wickets, as they outplayed the visitors in every facet of the game.
“On a serious note, we believe we can win against any opposition at any place in the world. Now how that will be presented is not in our control. We can only control our performance with the bat and the ball. We can’t control what people hear and read,” Kohli reiterated.
The lack of credit that his team received before this match irked Kohli deeply, and he didn’t hide his frustration. He felt slighted, and though they got the plaudits that their 3-0 trumping of South Africa warranted, India’s captain will not forget. But, last night, he was happy to look back on a series well won.
“It all started in Australia. The kind of belief we went there with gave us the confidence that we can beat any side in the world. That sort of mindset is important to win Tests and series. If you win one Test match, it can turn around pretty quickly. This is the icing on the cake,” he beamed.
“It’s an achievement we can be proud of; Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aron, Amit Mishra, and the top four batsmen are not so far away from each other. Everyone is contributing, which is the essence of any good team,” Kohli smiled.
India jumped to number two in the world with their dusting of the top-ranked side, but Kohli insisted that numbers mean little to him.
“Rankings do not matter to me, neither does it matter to the particular squad right now. If we keep performing well, obviously rankings will go up. You don’t play for that. Obviously it’s an incentive, which we don’t aim for, but we want to play good cricket and be a good Test side. The rest can follow.”
Having taken over from MS Dhoni in Australia last year, Kohli added that he was loving being in charge.
“It’s been couple of series I have been full-time captain. I have enjoyed it, I relish making plans with bowlers. When it comes off, that particular feeling is hard to explain. I like the fact that I am always involved in things, it fits me perfectly.”