Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, who will lead India for the first time in Tests format on Friday, reflected on Virat Kohli’s journey to 100 Tests and listed his favorite memory of beating his teammate. Rohit will begin his journey as Test captain when he leads India against Sri Lanka in the opening game in Mohali from Friday.
“As a test team, we are in a very good position. All credit goes to Virat for where we are in this format. What he’s accomplished with the test team over the years has been brilliant to see,” said Rohit at the pre-match press conference, his first as a test skipper.
“I just have to continue where he left it. I just have to do the right thing with the right players,” he added.
Although India’s chances of making it to the final of the Test World Cup currently look slim, Rohit insisted the team has been moving in the right direction.
“The team is in a good position. Yes, we’re in the middle of the WTC table, but I don’t think we’ve done anything wrong in the last two to three years,” added Rohit.
The mutual respect was on display as he paid copious tributes to his contemporaries ahead of his seminal game.
“It’s been a brilliant journey for him and a long one since his debut. Now he’s going to his 100th game. It was wonderful. He’s done extremely well in this format, changed so many things in the way the team is progressing, it’s been great to watch.
“It’s been one hell of a ride for him and we definitely want to make it special for him. We are all prepared and hope to have a good five days of cricket. The crowd comes to see Virat play and that’s a great thing.”
For Rohit, the best period under Kohli was the 2018 Australia series, which they won 2-1.
“As a team we won the 2018 series in Australia and it was a big series and Virat was our captain.”
Kohli’s best shot of his 27 Test hundreds, according to Rohit, is the one he hit on his first tour in South Africa in 2013.
“As a batsman, I remember his hundred (in Johannesburg) against South Africa in 2013. The course we played was challenging and we faced bowlers like Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Jacques Kallis, which wasn’t easy,” Rohit recalled.
“It was a bouncy stretch and we were all playing Test cricket for the first time in South Africa. He scored a hundred odd points in the first innings and 90 in the second innings.
“For me, these hundred are his best. Then there’s Perth 2018, but South Africa beat Perth in 2013,” he added.
