Virat Kohli Tells Sourav Ganguly: I Want to Win Like You
Known as much for his passion as for his fierce brand of cricket, India's young captain in Virat Kohli believes the team may have lost 2-0 to Australia but earned their respect by fighting hard.
Virat Kohli has announced his arrival as a visionary Test captain for India. Despite conceding the four-Test series 2-0 to Australia, the 26-year-old said he remains committed to settling for nothing short of wins. (Match report | Day 5 Highlights | Scorecard)
Kohli finished the Test series as the second-highest scorer. His 692 runs at an average of 86.50 may not have helped his team to win Down Under but the fighting spirit was for all to see. "I hate losing. It's how I have always been," he said in a post-match chat with former India captain Sourav Ganguly on STAR Sports.
"I have always seen greats in the game getting respect, you got it after your wins as captain. I want opposition to respect us each time we walk out to play. I don't want them to look at us as a bunch of youngsters who can be steamrolled," Kohli told Ganguly when asked why he gets so emotional on the ground. (Also read: Kohli scores runs by the dozen as Aussies fail to tame his batting)
The Delhi batsman replaced Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the Test captain mid-way through the series. The added responsibility though did not deter Kohli from scoring big. "I am glad I executed my plans well. I learnt a lot from (failures in) England series. I think every batsman should go through something like that to come out better," said the cricketer who hit four centuries and a fifty in the recently concluded series. "Against Australia, I would have been happier if my runs had got us wins."
Kohli also praised Australia and said that he had learnt a lot from how they played. "We need to be more consistent, especially in bowling. We need to get 20 wickets and are working on it. I saw how Australian bowlers stuck to line and lenghts and that's what we need," Kohli said.
The Indian team may have been beaten in an overseas Test series again but Kohli remained confident of doing well in the all-important 50-over World Cup. "We are taking positives from this Test series and I am sure it will help us in the World Cup here next month," said Kohli who will return to being deputy to Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the ODI format.