Kohli on Australian team: The Indian captain doesn’t see any on-field incidents happening on the field in this series.
Advertisement
Ahead of the much-awaited Test series against Australia in Australia, India captain Virat Kohli is currently banking on experience which his team has gained by playing eight Test matches outside the sub-continent this year.
Having yet to register a series win as captain outside the sub-continent, clinching the this series has it in it to go down as a highlight of Kohli’s captaincy career. Confident of doing the same, Kohli has said that India believe that they have the ‘ability’ to win a Test series in Australia.
“Looking at how much experience we have gained in the last four years since we have been here, and how the team has played, we definitely feel we have what it takes to win Test matches away from home and, hopefully, this time around, a full series,” Kohli was quoted as saying in an interview with Macquarie Radio.
“We don’t want to have one or two exciting Tests, we want to be able to perform consistently and put in those hard yards every game that we play and not be satisfied at any stage. In terms of skill, in terms of experience, in terms of how we are playing, our mindset, we definitely feel we have the ability to win a series here,” he further said.
During their tours of South Africa and England this year, India looked like winning matches but sudden collapses during crucial moments saw them losing the match altogether. The 30-year old cricketer was aware about the fact that India will have to hold on to these crucial moments if they are to beat Australia in Australia.
“It’s making sure those difficult sessions don’t turn about out to be horrible sessions which have happened in the past where we have lost five, six wickets in the span of an hour and a half and that has hurt us really bad. I think we have played at times better cricket than the opposition away from home but it’s those mistakes that have cost us that have been so extreme that we haven’t been able to come back from them.
“I think it will take composure and character to stem the flow which the opposition gains, block that momentum and try and turn the tide towards us, slowly but surely,” Kohli added.
With all the talk regarding Australia being ‘nice’ on the field has received contrary opinions in the recent times. While Australia-India series are usually played in hot tempers, the Indian captain expects ‘stuff’ not happening this time round.
“We might not see the stuff that happened in the last series but I think in terms of their body language and the intent they have, I am sure they are still going to be aggressive in their minds, and that’s the way Australia has always played.
“I don’t think there is any other way they like to play their cricket, so I don’t see any incidents happening on the field, I think it’s definitely going to be competitive cricket, they are going to bring their A game to us and expect us to bring ours. We definitely expect stiff competition from Australia as always and we are definitely not taking anything for granted,” Kohli concluded.
Read some of the latest Twitter reactions on Kohli below:
