I knew I needed 50 to break Viv Richards' record, Virat Kohli says after ODI feat
India's stand-in captain Virat Kohli became the fastest cricketer to amass 6000 One-Day International (ODI) runs during the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka in Hyderabad on Sunday. At the start of his innings, Kohli required just 48 runs to reach the landmark. By scoring a half-century in his side's six-wicket win, the 26-year old managed to achieve the feat in just 144 matches, 12 less than the previous record holder, Sir Vivian Richards. In the process, he also became only the 8th Indian to score 6000 runs in ODIs.
Speaking about the record in the post-match presentation, Kohli said he knew that he needed 50 runs to reach the landmark.
"I was not sure. I knew I had to get to 50 to get 6000, but I did not know how much faster I was from the great man (Viv Richards). I am trying to do whatever I can on the field for the boys”. he said.
India’s bowlers maintained good discipline right throughtout the 50 overs, thereby ensuring that Sri Lanka managed to put up only 242 runs on the board. As expected, Kohli was all praise for his bowlers’ performance and also expressed happiness about the team’s performance in its entirety.
"That was a brilliant performance, especially with the ball, given we were one bowler short. We had to string in six overs from part-timers to restrict them (Sri Lanka) to 242. It was a fantastic (performance)”. he said.
We cannot keep repeating our mistakes: Mathews
Kohli’s counterpart, Angelo Mathews, once again voiced his displeasure over the failure of his batsmen to notch up a big score.
"We flopped in our batting once again. You cannot keep repeating mistakes. 300 is a must on Indian wickets. 240 is nothing for bowlers to bowl at”. Matthews said.
"About three-four wickets fell in the powerplay with minimum runs, which went against us. We are trying our combinations, we want to recognise our strengths and weaknesses going into the World Cup." he added.
We need to score at least 300 to put India under pressure: Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene, who scored a classy 118 and, in the process, became only the fifth batsmen to cross the 12000-run mark in ODIs, said that he was disappointed to be on the losing side once again and felt a bit embarrassed to have received the Player of the match award.
"The way the Indians are playing, we need 300 to put them under pressure. They are putting us under lot of pressure by picking early wickets, putting us on the back foot straight away, and we are doing repair work after that”. The 37-year-old, veteran of 426 ODIs, said.
"I am surprised and a bit embarrassed to win the man of the match. We need to be consistent in our overall game." he added.