Moment you start thinking about the team, all the pressure goes away: Virat Kohli
Team India thrashed South Africa by an innings and 137 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in three-match Test series on Sunday.
In the Pune Test, India played dominating cricket throughout the game with opener Mayank Agarwal scoring the century on Day 1, followed by skipper Virat Kohli's double ton which ruled Day 2, while the next two days were dominated by Indian bowlers.
Run Machine Kohli was chosen as the Man of the Match for his career-best unbeaten knock of 254 which put India on top.
After the match, Indian skipper talked about his responsibility as captain to take the team in a commanding position in the game.
"It's about getting the responsibility back of being a captain (on scoring the double-hundred). The mindset is always to help the team and in that process, the big scores come. I think the moment you start thinking about the team, all the pressure goes away," said Kohli.
"I am at that stage of my career where I am happy to play for my team. Putting the team in a commanding position is the only goal. It's been a natural progress to have a calm mindset over the years. I have a good understanding at that and hence the muted celebration," he added.
Kohli smashed his seventh double-century of Test career to surpass legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. In the process, Kohli shared a 178-run partnership with his deputy Ajinkya Rahane.
The 32-year-old also said that he enjoys batting with Ajinkya Rahane, who helps him focus more on the game.
"You have to look forward to playing against the new ball. I enjoy batting with Jinks (Rahane), we run well between the wickets. We are the most successful Indian pair. Having him at the other end keeps you focused," the Indian skipper said.
It was Virat Kohli's 50th Test match as Indian captain, apart from him only MS Dhoni (60) lead the team in fifty-plus games in red-ball cricket. Kohli took over the charge of Indian team from Dhoni in 2014, when the Asian giants were no.7 position in the ICC Test Rankings and they are the table toppers.
Kohli also opened up on Team India's journey from No. 7 ranked to No.1.
"The good thing is when we started, we were at number 7. The only way was up. We laid down a few things and are all lucky to have this group of players. In the last 3-4 years, it's amazing to see that hunger for all the guys to keep improving. Saha was back to his best, coming into Vizag you could see he was nervous. Ashwin has stepped up beautifully and it's guys willing to work hard on those one or two per cent things for the team." said Kohli.
The third and final Test will be played in Ranchi from October 19. Skipper Kohli is focussed on clean sweeping the visitors in Ranchi.
"It's been nice and looking at the larger picture - the Test Championship, every game has even more value. We are not going to take the foot off the gas in the third Test. We are looking for a result and hopefully make it 3-0. No-one's going to relax at any stage, that is a guarantee," he concluded.
