Virat Kohli amazed his place was questioned despite fifties against WI

On Friday the 13th in a press conference that lasted 12 minutes and 11 seconds, India batsman Virat Kohli, who top-scored yesterday with 44, revealed the angst he felt when his spot was questioned after the first two Tests, blamed poor luck for India's continuing catastrophes in the four-Test series, defended their enduring batting woes, gave the Australian bowlers credit, but not before blaming luck again. Virat, tipped as a future India captain, appeared harassed.

He had sledged David Warner and Ed Cowan earlier in Australia's innings. It wasn't clear if that was playing on his mind. "He (Warner) was under pressure when he started. They have been talking about averages a lot to the Indian batsmen. That's what we started saying to them. Warner and Cowan both came to Ishant and myself and started saying stuff to us," he said.u00a0

"I don't know why people were after me even after the first game. I had scored two fifties before that in the match against WI (in Mumbai), and suddenly I was on the verge of being dropped after one match. Scoring eight hundreds in one-day internationals can't be a fluke. It's international cricket as well. I don't know why people have been questioning my technique or temperament so much," Kohli added.

Kohli added 68 runs with VVS Laxman before perishing to a loose shot just minutes before tea. But, Kohli defended his shot, "I said this in Mumbai as well. I was questioned why I played that shot in the first innings. Cricket always has a thin line between a mistake and pulling off really good shots. Those kind of deliveries you need to hit for boundaries in international cricket. The way they were bowling, they weren't giving much. And you need to convert those loose balls into boundaries. Unfortunately, I tried to go for one, I couldn't execute it properly," he said.

Kohli blamed poor luck for his side's disastrous Day One. "Luck is a very important thing in cricket, which unfortunately hasn't been going our way in important phases. Just before breaks, after breaks, just before lunch, just before tea ufffd we have lost important wickets at important times in matches. Just when we are about to convert that 80-run partnership into a 150-run one, we lose a wicket. That's all that has been happening. I don't think anyone has a lack of temperament or technique. Just that things haven't been going our way recently," he said.