“One thing I learned is that frustration gets you nowhere,” Kohli said after receiving the player of the match award. “The game still remains very simple. This is when we start complicating things with our own attachment, our desires, our self-attachment to the point of view of the people we become, not who we are. were when we used to pick up the bat or the ball. We started playing. I think when that attitude is gone, you start putting yourself in a place where everything just keeps going downhill .
“And it’s only quietness, in the real sense, [that helps], where you go out there playing without fear, and you go out there playing for the right reasons, playing almost every game like it’s your last game and being happy about it, not sad about it Happen. These are the things that I learned.
“I can’t hold on to things. The game is going to move on, it’s going to continue, many players have played in the past. I’m not going to play forever. So what I’m trying to do is, Who am I trying to protect? So these were all the things that I felt. I’m in a happy place [now], I am just enjoying my game and want to play with joy till the time I play.”
After Sri Lanka stunned India on Tuesday, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill set the stage with a 143-run partnership in just 19.4 overs. Kohli also started aggressively and kept that momentum going, ending with 113 off 87 balls at a strike rate of nearly 130. His knock helped India reach 373 for 7, which proved out of reach for Sri Lanka.
Kohli said, “I don’t think there was anything different that I personally prepared.” “My preparation is always the same, my intention is always the same. Sometimes you don’t get the flow you want, but today I felt like I was hitting the ball well. So I just Kept backing my intentions and even when wickets fell I kind of had to hold one end and bat with the other guys.
“As I said at the innings break, it was very close to the template I play with. Understanding the conditions [dew] In the second half, I also had it in my mind that we would need those 25-30 extra runs and eventually I was happy that I was able to get that to give a comfortable total on the board for the team.”
During his innings, Kohli was dropped twice, first on 52 and then on 81. Kohli said he is grateful for such days as luck doesn’t always shine on you.
“I’ll take it any day,” Kohli said at the innings break. “Look, luck plays a big role and all you can do is bow your head down and thank god on evenings like this when luck goes with you a little bit. But it is also very important to remember these evenings.
“I could have got out around 50 and scored a hundred because of luck. I am very well aware of that, so I am thankful and grateful that I was blessed with this little bit of luck today. The important thing was To get the most out of it.”
Hemant Brar is the Deputy Editor at ESPNcricinfo
