NEW DELHI: India batting mainstay Virat Kohli on Sunday said his remarkable journey so far feels nothing short of a dream, as he continues to bring happiness and smiles to millions through the game he loves.
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The 37-year-old reached yet another landmark during the first ODI against New Zealand here, becoming the fastest player to complete 28,000 runs across formats in international cricket and moving to second place on the all-time list behind Sachin Tendulkar.
Playing his 624th international innings, Kohli reached the milestone with a boundary off New Zealand leg spinner Adithya Ashok. Tendulkar had achieved the feat in his 644th innings, while Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara, the only other member of the 28,000-run club, got there in 666 innings.
“Honestly, if I look back at my whole journey, it’s nothing short of a dream come true. I’ve always known my abilities, when I came in and I had to work for a lot more to get to the place I am today.
“God has blessed me with way too much for me to complain about anything. So I feel nothing but gratitude. I always look back at my whole journey with a lot of grace and and a lot of gratitude in my heart and I feel I feel proud about it.”
Kohli, who was named Player of the Match for the 45th time in his career, continues to draw massive admiration wherever he plays.
“I feel grateful that I’ve been put in this position. It’s a blessing to be honest. You can give so much happiness to so many people by just doing what you love to do, which is play the sport you’ve always loved as a child.
“What what more can I ask for I’m literally living my dream and making people happy and see smiling faces.”
Reflecting on his 91 ball 93 that laid the platform for India’s win, Kohli said, “If I’m being brutally honest the way I’m playing right now, I’m not thinking about the milestones at all.
“Honestly, if we were batting first today, I would have probably gone harder. Because there was a total on the board, I had to kind of buckle down and and play the situation. I was feeling like I want to hit more boundaries.”
On whether his approach early in the innings has become more aggressive, Kohli explained, “The basic idea is I batted at number three, so if the situation is a bit tricky, I backed myself to counter-attack now rather than just trying to play the situation in.
“Because some ball has your name on it. So there’s no point waiting around for too long But at the same time you don’t play outrageous shots, you still stick to your strengths. But you back yourself enough to put the opposition on the back foot and that’s exactly what happened today when I walked in.
“I just felt like if I push hard now in the first 20 balls, then we can probably string in a partnership straight after a wicket like Rohit’s Where the opposition is gonna go on the back foot and that actually ended up being the difference in the game.”
Kohli also revealed that his trophies are sent to his mother in Gurgaon.
“Yeah, she likes keeping all the trophies,” he said with a smile when asked if he needed extra space for his awards.
Kohli walked in to bat after the fall of Rohit Sharma’s wicket and was greeted by loud cheers from the crowd.
Asked about the reaction, he said, “I think it’s like different timing happens at different games, I am not really aware of it.
“I honestly don’t feel good about it if I have to be honest. Same thing happens with MS. I’ve seen a lot as well. I don’t think that it’s a good feeling for the guy going out. So I do feel bad about it. I also understand the crowd, gets excited and they get happy.
“So I guess it’s part of the game and I try to just focus on what I need to do and not think so much before I go to bat.”
India captain Shubman Gill praised Kohli’s impact, admitting that he is making batting look effortless at the moment.
“It’s tough to start on these pitches. Tough to replicate what he does. Hope he keeps piling on runs.”
“Always feels great to chip in, especially when you’re chasing. Staying in the present is most important, esp for athletes. That’s what I try to do.”
(With PTI Inputs)
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