Bengaluru: Virat Kohli has a sharp memory. After dismissing him on the first day, Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon, referred to the Indian skipper as the ‘head of the snake’. Not in a negative sense. But it seemingly irked Kohli. After pulling off a fantastic win, Kohli waded into the Australians.
“Everyone got along together, we showed the team spirit, and a lot of people were talking about the head of the snake, but I think the snake did pretty well by itself,” said Kohli indicating his displeasure.
“So it’s not just about one individual. I’m pretty happy if they keep focussing on the head of the snake and the snake can sting from a lot of directions. I think some people need to keep that in mind.”
Excerpts:
Is this win more fulfilling than the others in your captaincy?
For sure. Till now, this is the best one definitely. I don’t want to say too much, because the game panned out the way it did. It was a quite emotional game for us, quite draining as well.
How did the team deal with the pressure after Pune?
We had spoken even before this Test match about, if they are saying that they need to get me out and the team will fall apart, I told everyone else, it’s an opportunity for you. I just look to learn from failures. If you perform well and the team wins, then obviously you’re pleased, but you just want your team to win.
We addressed it, and said, let their focus be on this, and if they don’t focus on the others, they’ll let the momentum slip, and that’s exactly what happened. They basically played into our hands.
But at the same time you need two-three people to step up and take responsibility, and I feel that the partnership between Ajinkya and Pujara, in a situation where the momentum was against us in the series, was outstanding.
In the last two years, it’s one of the top two partnerships, or maybe number one, because retrieving the lost momentum and giving the team the lead was a question of character, and they both showed why they are India’s best Test batsmen.
On Steve Smith’s ‘brain fade’
Honestly, if someone makes a mistake while batting, for me personally, that’s a brain fade.
The way I left the ball in Pune, you know, getting hit on the off-stump. That was a brain fade. But if something is going on for three days, then that’s not a brain fade, as simple as that.
I don’t want to say more on that, videos are out there for everyone to see. It was getting repetitive, that’s why the umpires also knew that it might happen again.
