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It is time to focus on the remainder of the series: Virat Kohli

| | Mar 16, 2017, at 12:54 am
Ranchi, Mar 15 (IBNS): Indian captain Virat Kohli while interacting with the media ahead of the third test match between India and Australia said that it is time for both the teams to focus on the remainder of the series and not on the incidents happened in Bangalore test match.

Both Indian and Australian teams were involved in a verbal spat against each other in Bangalore test which continued even after the match.

"Lot of cricket to be played in the series. Both teams needs to move on from Bangalore and focus should get back on to the series because priority here is cricket. We need to look forward," Virat said.

Speaking about the contests between different batsman and bowlers, the Indian captain said: "We do not focus much on opposition. Honestly we do not look for any of those competitions. I think these are contests that are created to get more excitement around the series which is fair but we individuals focus on what we need to do in certain sessions to win games for Team India."

In the first two test matches, pitch has been the topic of discussion as both the teams were reduced to some low totals and none of the teams have crossed the 300 mark yet.

However Kohli don't believe pitch to be the sole reason for such low totals and dearth of big innings.

He said: "Australia batted well in the first test while Indian team batted better in the second inning of the second test. Test cricket is more mental than looking at all thse external factors. I think most of the batting collapses are more mental than skill coming into fact. It wasn't much to do about the pitch because the other team batted better."

Regarding the criticism he faces, Virat said: "It doesn't matter to me honestly. I don't start a series asking any team to focus on me. It is not in my control. I can control what happens on field. If people choose to speak about me or write me that is their choice. Criticism or praise are totally detached from me."

Ian Chappel in an interview to Channel 9 said that Virat needs to control his emotions on field and also said that his only fault is his over-exposure of emotions.

India and Australia had a long break in between the second and third test which the Team India captain thinks to be an added benefit for the India as they had been playing non-stop cricket this season.

"Its very important to take every off-days as normal days. Its been a very long series. We want to finish the last two tests on a positive note. The break is good to recover. The break I think was timely as we played for so long and I think everyone enjoyed as the focus is back on this test match and last test match," Indian skipper said.

Mentioning the adjustments Cheteswar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane did in the second inning of Indian batting, Virat said: "Individually I think its adjustments the players make with techniques are important. The minor changes can make massive differences in the game."

Amidst the heated exhanges of words between the two teams, Aussie captain Steve Smith said that the Indian captain's statement over DRS (Decision Review System) against him was absolutely wrong.

In the post-match press conference after second test, Kohli alleged Smith for consulting with other team mates in the dressing room before taking decisions on DRS. 

The third test between India and Australia will start from March 16.
 

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