08 January,2019 05:12 PM IST | Sydney | R Kaushik
Virat Kohli was the youngest member of the 15-man squad when India lifted the 2011 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium. He was understandably jubilant, but he didn't quite share the same emotions at that triumph as a Sachin Tendulkar, a Virender Sehwag or a Harbhajan Singh did. After all, unlike that troika, it was his first World Cup, and he had the winner's medal around his neck at the first time of asking.
Yesterday, after lifting the Border-Gavaskar Trophy following India's first Test series victory in Australia - something no side had managed in the previous 71 years - the Indian captain could empathise with those to whom the 2011 World Cup success had meant the most. This was his third Test tour of Australia, and the two preceding ones had ended in unmitigated heartbreak.
"It's obviously a very proud moment, more so because for the last 12 months, we understand what we have gone through as a team," Kohli said, referring to defeats last year in South Africa and England.
"I was part of the 2011 World Cup, but I didn't have the emotion of not having been able to win a World Cup before. A lot of the senior players had that emotion. It was a great moment for me to be part of but if you ask me which moment is more emotional, I would say this one because this is my third tour here and I have seen with experience and being in the field as to how difficult it is to win here. And all the struggles that we have gone through in the past 12 months as well, as a team."
"Definitely it will be more special, purely because of the fact that we wanted to win a series away from home. We didn't want to be a one-match wonder kind of thing. We as a team feel absolutely complete now that we have done what we set out to do, not to show to anyone else but to prove ourselves that we could do it and we have done it. From that point of view, this one is more special for me."
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
