'Playing for right reasons': Virat Kohli gives a prefect reply to Murali Kartik's' remark

Former India captain Virat Kohli dismantled several cricketing records on Sunday by smashing an unbeaten knock of 166 runs off 110 balls against Sri Lanka in the 3rd ODI. Courtesy of Kohli’s masterclass, India ended up scoring 390/5 in the first innings and later bowled out the visitors on 73 runs. India won the match by a gigantic margin of 317 runs and also completed a 3-0 whitewash.

Kohli received the Player of the Match award for his performance and was also named the Player of the Series. This was the 10th time in his illustrious career that Kohli became Player of the Series. On being asked about this special feat at the post-match presentation, Kohli came up with an interesting answer.

Speaking to Murali Kartik after the match, “I have no idea (about the Player of the Series awards he has won). For me, it's just a byproduct of the intent I have, mindset that I play with. Mindset is always to help the team win, bat for as long as possible and if you do that, you end up making a difference. I have always played for the right reasons, help the team as much as possible. It is just intent, playing for the right reasons”.

"Don't have that desperation to get to a milestone"

Courtesy of his heroic knock, Kohli smashed several batting records in the 50-over format of the game. Kohli now has 12,754 runs in ODIs and is the fifth-highest run scorer in the format. He also owns the record for hitting the most no. of centuries (20) while playing at home, after surpassing Sachin Tendulkar in the 3rd ODI.

Further revealing his thoughts after the match, Kohli said, “Ever since I came back from the long break, I have been feeling good. I don't have that desperation to get to a milestone. I am just enjoying my batting, being in a space where I can relax. Today as well, I was just happy to be out there batting. I am in a nice space right now and want this to continue. Shami has always been there for us but the way Siraj has come up has been outstanding. He has taken the maximum number of wickets in the powerplay, which was an issue for us early. He is always making the batters think, which is a great sign for us going into the World Cup”.

While India scored 390/5 in the first innings, pace sensation Mohammed Siraj dismantled the Sri Lankan batting lineup with the figures of 4/32 in 10 overs. Mohammed Shami contributed with 2/20 in six overs, while Kuldeep Yadav returned with 2/16 in five overs. Sri Lanka was bowled out on the total of 73 runs in just 22 overs.