WTC 2023 Final: “I wake up every morning believing that I can be the man for the team”- Virat Kohli

Kohli is unbeaten on 44 with Rahane on 20* as India look to chase 444 runs in WTC final.

Kohli is unbeaten on 44 with Rahane on 20* as India look to chase 444 runs in WTC final | Getty

Former India captain Virat Kohli claimed that he believes he can be the man for the team, while speaking with ICC ahead of the WTC 2023 Final against Australia, which began on June 7 at the Oval.

His side looks to chase down a mammoth target of 444 on the final day of the World Test Championship (WTC 2023) final against Australia on June 11, 2023.

Kohli has earned the tag of being the chase master over the duration of his career for leading India to some famous wins over the years. However, India's task will be cut out on Sunday as they will be chasing 280 runs with seven wickets remaining.

Virat is unbeaten on 44 and has Ajinkya Rahane (20*) for company with the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat and Shardul Thakur to come. Much depends on Kohli, however, who has an excellent record in fourth innings, scoring 1033 runs in 76 matches at an average of 49.19.

The India batter said that the role as chase master has been a key reason behind him coming back to form this year in all formats of the game.

"What motivates me is knowing that the opportunity I have every game that I play for India, to make my team win. 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 to ICC.

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Kohli went on to say that he wants his team to feel comfortable knowing he is 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. I still wake up every morning believing that I can be the man for the team,” he added.

The highest ever score chased by a team to win a Test is 418 by West Indies against Australia and for India it is 406 against West Indies.

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 11 Jun, 2023

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