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Cricket

“You have to play for the right reasons,” says Virat Kohli after explosive century

In the first ODI in Guwahati, Kohli scored a century off 80 balls against Sri Lanka. The former India captain hoisted his bat in celebration of his second straight century, having earlier scored a century against Bangladesh in the third ODI last year.

Virat Kohli said he was delighted to have played at the speed of the game to strike two hundreds in a row in the format and lead India to a total of more than 370 in the series opener against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

After ending a three-year century drought in ODIs against Bangladesh in December 2022, the former India batsman scored 113 against Sri Lanka in the opening ODI of the three-match series. Kohli now has 45 ODI hundreds, drawing closer to Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds.

Kohli was declared Player of the Match and said “I don’t think there was anything different. My preparation and intent always stay the same and I just kept backing my intent. As I said during the mid-innings break, it was very close to the template I play with. I also understood we needed an extra 25-30 runs. The only thing I learnt was desperation doesn’t get you anywhere. You have to play for the right reasons and almost play every game like your last and just be happy about it. The game is going to move on and I’m happy with my space.”

“I have had a bit of a break, a couple of practice sessions before this game. I have come mentally fresh after the Bangladesh tour where things didn’t quite go to plan for me in the second half. I was quite excited for the home season to start and was just hitting the ball really well in the nets. The way openers played, it allowed me to play my game at my own pace and be positive from the get go because we were under pressure. I had to bat through the innings as I always do in ODIs but still manage to keep my strike-rate in check because we needed the big score and dew was going to be a factor. I am glad I could play at the tempo of the game and make sure we not just got 340, but 370 plus,” he explained.

Apart from Kohli, skipper Rohit Sharma (83 off 67 balls) and Shubman Gill (60-ball 70) also contributed significantly. Gautam Gambhir, a former India cricketer, had stated that both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will play significant roles in this year’s 50-over World Cup in India.

“Luck is important, it plays a part. I am grateful for it, and bow my head and accept it. But more importantly, I am glad we have the extra 30 runs because there will be dew. Because Rohit and I were in good flow, and we batted at a high strike-rate throughout the innings,” Kohli added.

Kohli concluded by emphasising the significance of diet at this point of his career.

“I am pretty conscious of what I eat, nutrition is the most important thing for me at this age, like getting into my 30s and the mid-stage,” he remarked.

“That maintains me in peak condition since you need the appropriate nutrition not just to regulate your weight and fat percentage, but also to give you energy on the field. I’m always psychologically prepared to go out there and put my best foot forward now. That allows me to give my all to the squad,” he added.

Kohli was among the veteran players who were rested for the T20 International (T20I) series preceding the ODIs. Kohli is joined in the XI by skipper Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.

 

 

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