Virat Kohli doesn't count his Man-of-the-Match award trophies. He just sends them to his mother Saroj in Gurgaon, which is what he said at the presentation after yet another Man-of-the-Match award for his 93 off 91 balls that laid the foundation for India's four-wicket win over New Zealand in the first ODI in Vadodara on Sunday.
Kohli, playing with immense fluency and control, looked all set for his 54th ODI ton but fell just seven short of it. For Kohli, though, milestones matter little.
"If I am being brutally honest, the way I’m playing right now, I’m not thinking about milestones at all. If we were batting first, I probably would’ve gone harder.
"But in a chase, with a total on the board, I had to play the situation. I felt like hitting more boundaries, but experience kicks in. The only thing on my mind was getting the team to a position where we could win comfortably," the former captain emphasised.
Asked what has changed his approach, Kohli said: "I bat at No.3. So, if the situation is tricky, I back myself to counterattack rather than just waiting around. Any ball can have your name on it, so there’s no point being passive. At the same time, you stick to your strengths."
Washington injury
Off-spinner all-rounder could bowl only five overs in Sunday's game and came down to bat late at No.8 after sustaining what appeared to be a left-side strain. With not even a month to go for the T20 World Cup, this certainly puts in doubt his participation in the showpiece event, which begins on February 7.
Washington left the field after going wicketless in his five overs and was in clear discomfort when he came out to bat after the dismissal of Harshit Rana, who was promoted up the order. He underwent a scan after the game, captain Shubman Gill said later. Gill didn't sound too confident either on whether Washington would recover fast for the remaining matches against the Black Caps.