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Adelaide: Virat Kohli, India’s first (and, in all probability, only) centurion in the Test series, has dedicated his achievement to his late father, Prem.
“Everything I achieve is for Dad...I thought of him first, on getting the 100th run,” Virat told The Telegraph at the InterContinental on Thursday evening.
Earlier, he addressed a media conference at the Adelaide Oval.
The following are excerpts
On getting to his maiden Test hundred
Was on Cloud 9... I’d got hundreds in ODIs before, but this being my first in Test cricket will always be special. As a kid, you dream of scoring a Test hundred... I've done that.
Thoughts when two wickets (Ravichandran Ashwin and Zaheer Khan’s) fell on successive balls soon after tea on Day III...
I was pretty frustrated at that point... I didn’t want Perth to be repeated...That’s why, in the next over, I decided to go after Ryan Harris.
[In the second innings at Perth, Virat was last out, for 75.]
Significance of his 116...
I’m not saying that I’ve established myself in Test cricket, but I hope this is the start (of becoming a regular)... This tour is a learning curve. I’ll become a better cricketer as long as I can learn and perform at the same time. That’s my aim. Going forward, I hope I can be consistent.
Becoming the first Indian to score a hundred in this Test series...
That’s cricket... It happens... Sometimes, four players score a hundred, sometimes just one... It's not the first time that they (the seniors) have come to Australia... They have performed in the past, why is everyone forgetting that?
His 114-run partnership with ’keeper Wriddhiman Saha for the sixth wicket...
He’s a very positive and a very competitive guy... For someone to come in for just one match and to prove himself... He was mentally strong when he came out to bat and I didn’t have to tell him much... He’s going to be a special player.
Exchange with Ben Hilfenhaus, when on 99...
I’d just avoided being run out when Hilfenhaus said something which was totally unnecessary and out of the blue... I can’t repeat what he said, but I gave it back... Ishant (Sharma) joined me and they got really pissed with that, I guess... Ricky Ponting said I could get into trouble... But, that’s the way I play the game... I give it back... To give it back verbally and to then score is more satisfying.
Sledging by the Australians...
They sledge when they get frustrated... It was hot and they were trying to upset our concentration. During the partnership (with Saha) they went really, really low...They need to know that even we’re international cricketers and have come to play (not be abused).
The crowd getting after him...
In Sydney, they were after me because I wasn’t scoring. Here, they were pissed because I’d got a hundred. Only the reason (for being abusive) changed. If they come to enjoy the game, then they shouldn’t get drunk and turn abusive.
Australian cricketers being abused by crowds in India...
Don’t know about it... It’s not fair on the players. If the player says something (in retaliation), he’ll get fined and maybe banned, but the spectators can say anything and go home. Not fair.
The difference within him in the first two Tests and the last two...
Not watching TV and not reading the papers... I know if I don’t do well, then I’ll be criticised; if I do well, I’ll be praised... I need to create a balance between the two... Now that I’ve done well, I won’t go back (to the hotel) and search the internet for articles praising me... If I can remain in neutral space, maybe I'll be in a better state of mind to perform.
His approach...
What I can have control over is to go out and perform... If I get a chance, I have to prove myself. By not paying attention to what was being said and written (after the first two Tests), I gave myself the best chance. Whatever was related to my game, I straightened out... To perform, I need to be in a good space.
Toughening himself before the Perth Test...
I kept telling myself that I’d performed in the ODIs and even that was international cricket.. I kept telling myself that I’d scored eight hundreds (in ODIs)... I started to believe in myself and kept aside the pressures. It's important to keep telling yourself that you're good enough to perform at the international level.
The position he’s most comfortable at...
It depends on what the team wants... I’m ready to bat anywhere, as long as I’m playing!
If there are other batsmen who, too, could take Indian cricket forward...
They are waiting for opportunities, but putting too much pressure on somebody, initially, is not fair. You need to let the guy blend into a certain format... Some start well, some take time, so you’ve got to be patient... Those who have (already) got a chance are good enough... The day they’re mentally tougher, more sure of themselves, they will perform better.
Finally, if the Indian cricketers are touchy about criticism...
If you don’t want the players to react in an absurd manner, or to react angrily, then the criticism and praise should be somewhere around the same level. You don’t crush the legends of the game after a few Tests... It shouldn’t be that you make them kings and, then, treat them like total failures. It’s not fair on them.
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