Dhaka, Feb 19: After having smashed a scintillating 83-ball hundred in the opening match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 against Bangladesh, Indian middle-order batsman Virat Kohli on Saturday admitted that he was nervous playing his career’s first World Cup match in the seniors’ category.
The in-form batsman also spoke about batting with Virender Sehwag and the Indian top-order.
Excerpts from a chat
On playing his first ICC Cricket World Cup match
Honestly, I was very nervous going into the game because it is a game against the home team Bangladesh. The crowd was backing them. I was nervous when I went in but decided to play myself in [rather] than play a foolish shot in nervousness. It all came off well for me in the end. It was a good start for me and my team.
On whether the loss against Bangladesh in the last edition was playing on his mind
We had it in our mind that we lost to them badly the last time. We knew we had to give an improved performance this time around. The guys were really pumped before this game. We were all very eager to do well in this game. Luckily, the combination is working well now. We have put a total on the board and now we need to defend it well.
On Virender Sehwag’s 175
He [Virender Sehwag] was going for a double hundred. I told him to go for it as well. He is just an amazing player. I don’t want to say anything about him. He was also challenging me to hit sixes because he was hitting [the ball] in the stands and I was just clearing the ropes. It was a great partnership with him and I really enjoyed myself.
On India’s batting performance
Sehwag [Virender] and Sachin [Tendulkar] gave us a good start and then Gautam [Gambhir] played a run-a-ball knock to keep things ticking. When I came in to bat I took my time and then I and Sehwag [Virender] decided to go after them in the 3rd Powerplay. We grabbed the momentum there.
