"We're going for win against Australia," - Kohli reveals his strategy of 2014 Adelaide Test
Virat Kohli has revealed that India had decided on the fourth day of the 2014 Adelaide Test that they would go for a win on the final day, regardless of the target. The Indian skipper has also singled out his second inning century in that Test as the most pleasant and memorable ton of his career.
On the first-ever Test match under Kohli’s captaincy, India had begun the final day's play needing 364 runs to win in 98 overs and a win would have seemed a ridiculous thought at the time. Kohli had scored a scarcely believable 141 off 175 to draw India much close but fell agonisingly to a mistimed pull off Nathan Lyon when India actually needed just 60 with four wickets in hand and a little under 17 overs to go. However, Indian tailenders fell spectacularly as Australia won the game by 48 runs. The approach was unfamiliar to the Indian team of the bygone era and the world was about to see a captain who was ready to jump into the fire for a win.
Almost three years since his Test captaincy debut, when Kohli was asked about the same, he spoke about a conversation from the dressing room on the fourth day of the Adelaide Test in which they decided to go for a victory.
"Whatever target they give us tomorrow, we're going for it. If there's any hesitation or anyone wants to oppose it, you tell me right now, or we go to our rooms knowing we're going to meet the target. So it hurt a lot not to cross the line, but it gave us a lot of confidence as a team that we could win anywhere," Kohli said while receiving the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2017 Award.
On a day-five pitch, with the ball turning square, Kohli played a sublime inning of 141 runs off 175 balls with hardly a false stroke. That innings laid the foundation for India’s victory and was hailed as one of the finest centuries by an Indian batsman on the Aussie soil.
"There have been so many, but purely in terms of the transition, the second innings hundred at Adelaide where we almost won the Test match..." Kohli said.
0
0
0
0
0
0
Comments
Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions
0 Comments