Hyderabad: Monday’s victory meant Virat Kohli has led India to 19 Tests without defeat (of which 15 were wins) but the charismatic captain is keeping feet firmly on the ground, downplaying his role.
“It is the players that make you the captain that you become. To be very honest, anyone knows how to set fields in the ground,” he said.
Kohli says his main task is to pep up players. “It’s just that have the responsibility of keeping the energy of the team up. I look to push myself, throw myself, so guys know that they have to push for a wicket. The bowlers know what they need to do but the fielders within the ring need to support them. I need to do that first, for the guys to show that energy. I’m able to maintain that and that has been a takeaway from the games that I have been captain so far,” he said.
Excerpts
On his own batting: I didn’t expect myself to get 200 off 240 balls. Usually, I take more time but the wicket allowed me to play my shots. I played percentage cricket, so it was good to get into that rhythm, playing few shorter format games. It was really important to get into the rhythm going into a big series against Australia. I feel good about where my game stands, and hopefully can take it forward.
On the unbeaten run: We are playing as a team and that’s been the difference. If you see, you can say probably 2016 I scored a lot of runs but before that in 2015 as well we won a lot of matches when other guys stepped up. So, their confidence was rubbing off on me and that’s how you play as a team. That’s why we stand where we are and that streak is not down to 2-3 people, it is a combined effort of all the guys.
On areas to address before the Australia series: The only thing we could have done better is close the (Bangla) second innings quickly. I think there was a bit of lapse in body language when they were eight down.
