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Do You Play To Win Or Take Game To 5 days: Kohli On Ahmedabad Pitch Controversy

Mumbai: Reacting to the controversy surrounding the Ahmedabad pitch, Virat Kohli said, “Do you play to win or take the game to five days?”

He went on to add that for him, it was about the batsmen failing to put on a good show in the third Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

He said, “I don’t understand why the cricket ball and the pitch are often brought to mind. It was about the batsmen, who were not skilled enough to play properly on the pitch. It was a bizarre problem for the two teams. It was a bizarre display of batting from both teams. I have played this game long enough to understand what happens on the field. I would love if people ask me the question about home advantage when we are on a tour of Australia and England, not when you have seen two turning tracks,” said Kohli during a virtual press conference on Thursday.

“I would like to ask a question? You play to win or you play to take the game five days and have some entertainment? We play to win, we don’t play that everyone scores runs. We play to win, people should have fun. When India wins, it should not matter how many days the match is over. In previous games, runs have been scored, you cannot criticize on the basis of one game. Unfortunately, we do not want to provide any explanation, so this question is not relevant to me, winning our attention.”

Commenting on the social media milestones, Kohli said: “Hitting 100 million followers mark is no motivation to me, I am not bothered about these things. The only thing that inspires me is how can I be a better person and cricketer, I just want to improve myself.”

Talking about how Cheteshwar Pujara is the linchpin of this Indian Test team, Kohli told Josh: “Pujara himself knows what he needs to improve. The fact of the matter is that four years ago, he was criticised for not scoring away from home, he was only a home track bully, now he is performing for you all over the world, now a couple of innings he has struggled where everyone has done the same barring Rohit.

“Ash (Ashwin) played well, Jinx (Rahane) got a fifty, I got a couple of 50s, it has not been easy. If you now start criticising his game at home, I do not think it would be fair and I will say it again and again, along with Jinx, he is our most important Test batsman. He is a very responsible guy, I am sure he will keep solidifying his game,” he added.

The four-match series is currently being led by India (2-1) and the hosts just need to win or draw the final Test to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC)

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