|| India Correspondent ||
India captain Virat Kohli has not scored a century in international cricket since November 2019 despite having a few 50+ scores in his name, including 66 off 79 balls in the second ODI against England on Friday in India's 336 for 6 as well. India eventually lost the game by six wickets as England levelled the series 1-1.
After the game, Kohli said that he does not care about his personal milestones.
"I never played for 100s in my life, that’s probably why I ended up getting so many in such little time. It’s all about contributing to the team cause. If the team doesn’t win when you get three figures it doesn’t mean anything. That’s the way I have played and will continue to play as well. You’re not going to sit back at the end of your career and look at numbers, it’s more about how you played the game," he said at the post-match presentation.
Kohli further explained why Hardik Pandya's bowling was not used in the game. Notably, Hardik had a tough time after his back surgery and he initially wasn't bowling as well as he was playing as a batsman only.
"We need to manage his body as well going forward. We need to understand where we need his skillsets with the ball along with his batting. We used him in the T20Is but it’s a bit of workload management as well. There are Tests in England coming up too. We want to ensure we have Hardik Pandya fit and strong, because he’s going to be an important part of the squad in all three formats," he again added.
However, the Indian captain believed that dew had nothing to do with the game which became tough for them to win in the end.
"I don’t think the dew played any role at all. The ball wasn’t difficult to hold. You could say the wicket settled down a bit under lights but that’s no excuse. When two of the best teams in the world collide, one of them is going to win convincingly. Last time we came back. This time England didn’t give us anything at all. It’s quite rare that if you play with that strike rate and give no chances. It shows the quality of batting," he shared.
"We lost two wickets early on and needed a partnership. That happened with KL and myself. KL carried on, really happy for him. Then Rishabh changed the game, and Hardik finished it off as well. Really pleased with these young guys stepping up. But tonight wasn’t our night, it was England’s. Nicely set up for the decider," he concluded.