When he accepted the Player of the Match award for his epic 186 in the drawn fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad, talismanic batter Virat Kohli stated that the expectations he has of himself as a player are more important to him.
On Sunday, Kohli ended a three-year wait for a Test century, the last coming in November 2019 against Bangladesh, with 186 runs, his 28th tonne in the format coming off 241 balls and 75th international century, to give India a 91-run lead.
"My expectations of myself as a player are more important to me. I believe that in Test cricket, I was unable to play with the same tempo and template that I had used for the previous ten years. So that was the one thing I was attempting."
"From the first innings in Nagpur, I felt like I was batting really well. But we were more concerned with batting as long as possible for the team. I did it for a while, but not to the extent that I had in the past. From that standpoint, I was disappointed, but I had faith that I was playing well and that if I got an opportunity on a good wicket, I could hit a big one "He stated this during the post-match presentation ceremony.
The 186 is also Kohli's highest Test score against Australia, as India drew the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series 2-1 in Ahmedabad. "I'm not in a position right now to go out and prove someone wrong. I also need to explain why I'm on the field. We decided to play positively when I was 60 and not out. However, due to injury, we lost Shreyas."
"As a result, we decided to play for time. They had good ball control and placed some good fields. We gained some ground and gave ourselves a fighting chance "He went on to say.
On March 17, India will face Australia in the first of three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in Mumbai.