Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Friday bluntly told former India cricketer Murali Karthik that he had never played for centuries in his life. This was after Karthik asked him about his two back-to-back 50-plus knocks in the last two One Day Internationals.
Kohli replied, “I never played for 100s in my life, that’s probably why I ended up getting so many in such little time. It’s all about contributing to the team cause. If the team doesn’t win when you get three figures it doesn’t mean anything.”
The Indian skipper added, “You’re not going to sit back at the end of your career and look at numbers, it’s more about how you played the game.When the top two sides are playing each other, it’s about who is better on the night.”
Kohli is just one century short of matching Sachin Tendulkar’s record of scoring most centuries at home in the ODI. The former Indian batsman has scored 20 centuries in India, while Kohli is currently placed at 19.
India were crushed by England in the second ODI as the visitors successfully chased the 336-run target set by Kohli’s side. Jonny Bairstow scored 124 runs, while Ben Stokes was unlucky to get out at 99, which he took just 52 balls to score including 10 sixes.
The deciding ODI will be played between the two sides on 28 March.