Connect with us

Sports

Was pushing myself to the limit: Kohli

Published

on

virat-kohli-batting

Mumbai: It took India’s batting order mainstay Virat Kohli 13 innings to score another One-Day International (ODI) century but the Test captain says he was pushing himself to the limit after the ton instead of basking in it’s glory so that India could have 30-40 more runs on the board.

India reached 299 courtesy Kohli’s 138 and then restricted South Africa to 264/9 in the fourth ODI in Chennai on Thursday.

“It feels really special to get a big hundred especially when we were 1-2 down in the series. The team winning and you getting a hundred is obviously a very special day. It was something that was needed to be done for the team while batting at No.3 again,” Kohli was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.

“I knew that this pitch was probably a 260-270 pitch but I pushed myself after I got my hundred. I was getting a bit of cramps but I told myself, if I can get 30 or 35 more runs here, the team will probably get to 300. That was the whole point of pushing myself over the limit and it feels absolutely wonderful that we are 2-2 all now. There is everything to play for in Mumbai.”

The India vice-captain added that it was a challenging innings for him as the visitors have a strong bowling unit.

“It is one of my more challenging innings in ODI cricket specially because of the bowling attack they have. South Africa have been bowling pretty well in the series in the right areas,” said the Delhi boy.

“The pitch wasn’t that quick for us to get boundaries throughout. So I had to run a lot and keep pushing the boundary fielders and keep looking for those gaps so that I could keep running through the innings. Probably, that is why in the end I started cramping because the body took a lot of toll.”

Asked about the century stands with Ajinkya Rahane (104) and Suresh Raina (127), Kohli said: “Ajinkya was very good in terms of getting the boundary at the right time and rotating the strike. Suresh was at his aggressive best. It was good to have that communication out there in the middle with both of them – sort of analysing what needs to be done.”

“Thing like, if you got 10 runs in an over just to calm the other guy down and tell him to take a single rather than go for a risky stroke. It was about playing smart cricket, that is exactly what we executed out there in the middle.

“Both those partnerships were really important for the team. We usually target 150-run stand and two 50-run stands. To get two 100-run partnerships on that sort of slow pitch in the afternoon was a commendable effort.”

 

Home

Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia

Published

on

The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.

Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.

Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”

Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.

Continue Reading

Trending