Virat Kohli: My confidence stems from the fact that I hate losing

January 10, 2015

Kohli hard time

Sydney, Jan 10: Virat Kohli ended the Test series with 692 runs at 86 but he said was most pleased by the character shown by his teammates, even as India lost the four-match Test series against Australia despite fighting to force a draw on the 5th day in Sydney.

"I am proud of the way we played in this series. The guys have stepped up to show real character and determination in Australia. In Australia, it is never easy," Kohli said during the post-match presentation.

The Indians fought hard in the series despite suffering a 0-2 reverse. In Adelaide, the Kohli-led team decided to go after the target of 364 on a crumbling final day track and fell 48 runs short. They were on-course for a first innings lead in Brisbane before Mitchell Johnson turned the game around with the bat and the ball. They shored up well in Melbourne and Sydney to eke out draws but Kohli hoped that the Australian team viewed this Indian team as worthy competitors. "It could have gone either way," he said. "I am sure Australia would have enjoyed the competition as well."

Speaking about the final day's play in Sydney, the Indian captain said that he wasn't sure if he wanted to go for the target at tea and credited Ajinkya Rahane for shepherding Bhuvneshwar Kumar to see out the remaining overs and force a draw after a point of time when defeat became a strong possibility. "At tea time, I was not 100% sure if we wanted to go for the target. After (Murali) Vijay got out, I thought we could go for it as we wouldn't be coming back here (to play Tests) for sometime now. If it does not happen, it does not happen, but it's worth taking the risk," he said.

"Our second innings was a mixture of intent and patience. Ajinkya Rahane showed a lot of character and determination at the end. Eventually, it was a satisfying result but a win would have been better," Kohli said.

The new Indian Test captain also identified the bowling as an area of improvement for the side and said that he had instructed his bowlers to learn from the opposition. "The batsmen have stepped up but the bowling needs consistency. What matters at the end of the day is taking 20 wickets. Spinners have been our strength in the past and we have to back our strengths. The Australian bowlers know how to set-up the batsman and we have to learn from them. We need to take somethings from the opposition," he said.

I would like to thank the Indian fans for coming out to support us; and also to the Australian fans who gave us a hard time

Kohli also said that he had learnt a lot during the disastrous tour of England in 2014 and made adjustments to his game to become productive again. "I now stand on middle and when I shuffle I get to the off-stump. This way, I have gotten a step ahead of the bowler. I enjoyed batting here but a few knocks in winning causes would have been a lot sweeter. I don't make it a point to play positively. It's the just the way I am. The confidence just stems from the fact that I hate losing."

The flamboyant Indian skipper also had words of praise for the Australian side's resilience to come out and play in the Test series that was marred by the tragic passing away of Phillip Hughes. "The way they composed themselves after the tragic incident, it was very commendable on their part."

Virat Kohli also stated that he wished to see his team gain the respect that Sourav Ganguly's team commanded when they stepped out onto the field in the 2000s. The star batsman then said that he believed India had every chance to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. "Exciting times for us going forward. I believe we can win the title. So far, we have played good cricket in Australia and this experience will help us," he signed off.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
May 9,2020

Tokyo, May 9: As the world continues to grapple with coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of Tokyo Game Show have cancelled 2020 showpiece event.

TGS 2020 was slated to be played from September 24 to September 27 at the Makuhari Messe convention center. However, there now talks going on for holding an online event instead.

According to the Verge, this is the first time that TGS has ever been cancelled since it started in 1996.

TGS 2020 gained more attention because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 15,2020

Jan 15: Australia openers David Warner and Aaron Finch both struck superb centuries to complement their bowlers’ inspired display as the touring side handed out a 10-wicket thrashing to India in the opening one-day international in Mumbai.

India, world-ranked No 2 in ODIs, suffered a middle-order collapse on their way to being bundled out for 255 in the final over of their innings after Australia captain Finch won the toss and opted to field in the first of the three-match series.

Warner and Finch then smashed the Indian bowlers to all corners of the ground, picking up boundaries seemingly at will to chase down the target with 74 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium.

Left-handed Warner successfully used the decision review system twice to overturn the umpire’s decision on his way to his 18th ODI century, hitting three sixes and 17 fours in his unbeaten knock of 128, from 112 balls. Finch completed his 16th century in the format, his unbeaten innings 110 from 114 features two sixes and 13 fours.

Earlier, Australia’s left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who made his ODI debut in India 10 years ago, picked up three wickets to set up Australia’s victory. He struck the first blow with the new ball when he sent back Rohit Sharma for 10.

India managed to recover from that early loss through a second-wicket stand of 121 between opener Shikhar Dhawan, who top-scored for the hosts with 74, and KL Rahul. However left-arm spinner Ashton Agar broke the stand by dismissing Rahul for 47 before Agar caught Dhawan off Pat Cummins in the next over.

The hosts were hoping for a solid innings from captain Virat Kohli, who batted a position lower than his usual No 3 spot to accommodate Rahul, to get them out of trouble. However, he lasted only 14 balls, hitting leg-spinner Adam Zampa for a six before offering a return catch to the bowler on the very next delivery to be out for 16.

Starc then returned to the attack, removing Shreyas Iyer cheaply as India lost four wickets for 30 runs to be reduced to 164 for five. Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja then fell just short of a half-century partnership, before the remaining four wickets falling for 42 runs, with Cummins and fast bowler Kane Richardson picking up two wickets apiece for Australia.

To compound India’s woes, wicketkeeper Pant suffered a concussion after being hit on his helmet by a short-pitched delivery from Cummins. The Indian cricket board said Pant, who did not come out to keep wicket and was replaced behind the stumps by Rahul, was under observation. The two sides will meet in Rajkot for the second ODI on Friday.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 7,2020

Mumbai, Jun 7: The Mumbai airport became home for a 23-year-old Ghanaian footballer for 74 days after he got stranded there due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown that led to cancellation of flights.

The ordeal of Randy Juan Muller reminded people of Tom Hank's character in the Hollywood film "The Terminal", and it ended after Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, reached out to help him.

Muller has now shifted to a local hotel and is waiting for airlines to resume operations so that he can fly home.

The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) also provided him all help, including food, and allowed him to use the airport WiFi network to make calls, an official said.

Muller, a Ghana national who used to play for a club in Kerala, was scheduled to fly home by Kenya Airways flight when the lockdown was announced and he found himself stranded at the Mumbai airport.

"He would spend his time at the airport's fancy artificial gardens and somehow buy food from stalls and pass his time with the airport staff. Muller told me the airport staff was very helpful," Yuva Sena office-bearer Rahul Kanal said.

A security officer at the airport gave him mobile phone to call his family back home.

A Twitter user brought Muller's plight to the notice of Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray following which Kanal reached out to the footballer and helped him move into a hotel.

On Saturday, Muller thanked Thackeray and Kanal for their help.

"Thank you Aaditya Thackeray, Rahul Kanal. Thank you very very so much. I appreciate what you have done. Salute," he said.

Kanal in a tweet said when he met Muller at the airport, the latter cried with happiness.

"Have no words to salute his willpower and fight for survival in such circumstances at this age," Kanal said.

An official at the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said the footballer was provided all help.

"All personnel at the airport, including from MIAL and CISF, gave him every possible help during his stay at the airport. Besides food, he was also allowed to use the airport WiFi network to make calls. Airport staff would recharge his phone at their own expense," the official said.

The 2004 film "Terminal" of Steven Spielberg was about a man stranded at a US airport after being denied entry into the country and a military coup back home.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.