Virat Kohli, India's star batter, said he felt both calm and excited after scoring a century against Australia in Ahmedabad, ending his three-year century drought in Test cricket.
Kohli scored his first Test century since 2019 and his 28th overall in the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy match earlier this month, after a 1205-day wait.
There was a 41-inning gap between his last century and a tonne in Ahmedabad, with the previous one coming against Bangladesh in November 2019 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, where Kohli scored a sublime 136.
"When I made the hundred and converted it into a big one, that gave me a sense of calmness, relaxation, and excitement again. You get comfortable with your game and your thinking, and your heart rate doesn't rise before the next practise session. You eventually want to be in such an environment. And that particular hundred gave me a grounded feeling back," Kohli said on the YouTube show of his good friend and RCB teammate AB de Villiers.
Just from a cricketing standpoint. I was generally content and at ease in my life. "However, when you're playing, you want to be in that space as much as possible," he added.
"I've been in contact with AB for quite some time. He is aware of how much I value Test cricket. Even though I had performed well in T20Is and scored ODI centuries, I always felt that white-ball cricket was more of a game where if you go in with the right frame of mind on a particular day or for a certain period of time, you can overcome the obstacles "Kohli went on to say.
"However, even though we played the Test on a wicket that does not provide much to the bowlers, you still have to bat for 7-8 hours at times because they (Australia) are that patient with their fields and can go defensive. It was constantly putting me to the test. As a cricketer, that is something I have always cherished "He went on.
The former India captain went on to say that while he was pleased with his contributions to the team, he was not doing enough to convert his decent score into big runs.
Kohli had gone 15 Test innings without a fifty-plus score before scoring 186 against Australia.
"I was getting good grades, but I wasn't happy with what I was doing. No, I wasn't. I take pride in giving my all for the team, and I certainly wasn't doing that enough. I wanted to score big runs, and that was something that always motivated me, whether at home or away. To some extent, I was doing that. But I wasn't having the same kind of impact as I used to "Kohli stated.
The stylish batter will next be seen in action on Wednesday at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai in the third ODI of the three-match series against Australia.