Felt like I was making my debut: Virat Kohli

Head coach Rahul Dravid presents Virat Kohli with the baggy blue to commemorate his 100th appearance in Test cricket. Pic/BCCI

Virat Kohli had "butterflies" in his stomach and "felt nervous" like a debutant when he walked out to bat in his 100th Test, but he is not bothered by lack of hundreds as he feels he is batting well. Kohli scored 45 and looked set before being bowled by Lasith Embuldeniya on the opening day of India's first Test against Sri Lanka here on Friday.

"I am preparing as I have always prepared. As long as I am batting well, I am not bothered. We are somehow crazy about milestones and materialistic achievements," Kohli told mediapersons when asked if he wants to revisit his process since big runs have dried up.

"It felt like I am making my debut. Had butterflies in my stomach, did feel very nervous," he said. However, he admitted that he needs to convert his starts. "Obviously disappointed as I got a good start. I was batting well. You obviously feel disappointed as a batsman. Endeavour is always to make sure to play a big innings for the team and put the team in a strong position," he said.

One of the pertinent points that he raised was that in a post Covid-19 world, there is very little time left for course correction when one needs to do it. "It's not an easy environment to get away from game and work on things you need to finetune. It's been tough playing three formats and IPL for so long. Proud of how I have handled my physique, my body," Kohli added.

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