Former India captain Virat Kohli is ready to take on the Australian pace attack as the side look to chase the target of 444 on Day 5 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval in London on Sunday, June 11. They still need 280 runs to win the match and it is in the hands of Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane as they hope to complete what will be a record chase for the two-time WTC finalists.
And ahead of the match, Kohli said that he wakes up every morning believing that he is the player to lead this team to glory. "What motivates me is knowing that the opportunity I have every game that I play for India, to make my team win," Kohli told the ICC ahead of the WTC Final.
"I don't think in sport there is any bigger motivation than that. I wake up every morning of any game that I play believing that I'm going to be the guy who is going to make my team win. I'm still as excited to be the man that helps my team when I'm batting out there," Kohli said.
During his long and distinguished career, Kohli has earned the tag of chase master, having scored big in some crunch ties for India. However, his performance in knockout matches of ICC tournaments has left much to be desired but today will be the perfect opportunity to prove the critics wrong as India look to complete the impossible.
Kohli added that he wants the team to feel comfortable with him at the crease and feels a lot of pride to be in that position. "I want my team to feel comfortable and they can breathe a sigh of relief that I'm out there and (knowing) I can do the job. That's something that I've always taken a lot of pride in and I feel very grateful, as I said, to be in that position where the team can expect that from me."
The star Indian is batting on 44 off 60 balls and Rahane is batting on 20 off 59. They are 164 for 3 with the match expected to go down to wire.
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