Ahmedabad. India’s star batsman Virat Kohli has admitted that not making any concrete contribution to the team for a long time was “constantly bothering” him. In a conversation with Indian coach Rahul Dravid, he said that he had let expectations get the better of him in his desperation to score a big century in Tests. Kohli scored 186 in the fourth Test against Australia to end a Test century drought of over three years. This was his 28th Test career while overall 75th international century. He said in a video released on the BCCI (Indian Cricket Board) website, “To be honest, because of my shortcomings, I allowed trouble to dominate me.”
“The desperation to get to the three-figure mark in cricket is something that can get the better of you as a batsman. To some extent, I let this happen to me. But the other side of it is that I am not a player who is happy with 40-45 runs. I take great pride in performing for the team. “When I am batting at 40, I know I can score 150. But it was constantly bothering me.” When Dravid asked him how difficult it was to deal with these adverse times, Kohli said, “If I tell the truth, it becomes a bit difficult because as soon as you go to the hotel. From the man outside to the person in the lift, the bus driver everyone is saying ‘we want a century with your bat’.”
Kohli said, “So it goes on in your mind, but the advantage of playing for so long is that you learn to deal with such difficult situations.” During which he batted for almost eight and a half hours and 364 balls. During this, while showing restraint, he did not hit any four in 162 consecutive balls. He hit his fifth four on the 89th ball while the sixth four came on the 251st ball of his innings. In this conversation, Dravid said that he too was looking forward to see a big century from the former skipper and it paid off in the end as Kohli did his best.
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He said, “I have seen him as a player. I have enjoyed many of his hundreds with the bat (T20 Internationals and ODIs) in the last 15-16 months since I got the job of coaching as well as watching many of his hundreds on television. I too couldn’t wait to enjoy his Test century from the dressing room. The Indian coach said, “It was a great feeling to enjoy this Test hundred of yours. It was an excellent innings. You made me wait for this for a long time but it was a privilege to see the way you took the innings forward. Kohli’s previous century before this Test came in the day-night Test against Bangladesh in November 2019. . Kohli said that he never plays with the thought of achievement. “A lot of people ask me, ‘how do you score so many hundreds’,” he said. I always say that my aim is to bat as long as possible for the team and while achieving this aim, a hundred is scored.
