Virat Kohli on WTC Final: Just another Test match

India skipper Kohli indicates he won’t lose sleep thinking about the outcome of the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, starting in Southampton today

England is not a place that Virat Kohli has many happy memories of as a skipper. Six months after MS Dhoni stepped down as India’s limited-overs captain in January 2017, his heir Kohli led the team to the Champions Trophy final only to be comprehensively beaten by Pakistan at The Oval.

Two years later, Kohli’s team went down to New Zealand in the ICC World Cup semi-final at Manchester despite being one of the most consistent performers in the 50-over tournament.  

Kohli & Co are back in the same country and all set to square off with Kane Williamson’s Kiwis at Southampton today in the first-ever ICC World Test Championship final. 

Staying true to their nature of playing consistent cricket, India qualified for the final by topping the points table in the most ruthless manner, coming back after being 0-1 down to beat the Aussies in their own backyard 2-1 and toppling England 3-1 at home. One would think an ICC trophy would be an ideal reward for one of the world’s most consistent cricket teams. However, for skipper Kohli, the outcome of this final will be immaterial to a side that set out to achieve “excellence” every day.

‘Striving for excellence’

“If you are talking about Test cricket and deciding who is the best Test team in the world in one game over a period of five days, that’s not the reality of the truth. It’s not gonna reflect anything for people who understand the game and who know what has gone in the last four or five years. This for us is just another Test match. You can very well look in history and see what has not gone your way. At the end of the day you realise, we play sport and you are going to be beaten and you are going to win on some days. 

“If you win this game, cricket is not going to stop for us. If we lose this game, cricket is not going to stop for us. Our process, our mindset is what matters the most to us. And we are striving for excellence every day. We step onto the field for every game, wanting to win. That’s the most you can ask of your players-to stand up in tough situations- and keep proving that you belong here,” Kohli told reporters on the eve of the final on Thursday.

Also Read: In seaming conditions, it's ideal to bat first and soak in pressure: Ganguly

Not the biggest ever match

One of the most vocal supporters of Test cricket in the T20 age, the Indian skipper did not wish to lay too much importance on the WTC final, when asked whether this is his biggest ever match. “No, for me this is another Test match that has to be played. These things are very exciting from the outside where there is so much importance, extra stuff attached to it and it becomes a do-or-die [situation]. For us, it’s the quest for excellence for a while now. We want to continue to be on that path regardless of what happens in this game,” he said.

India’s playing XI
Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami

Also Read: WTC Final: NZ skipper Kane Williamson not looking too much into favourites tag

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