Published: Mar 03, 2022, 08:27 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 03, 2022, 08:27 PM (IST)
Mohali: India captain Rohit Sharma on Thursday affirmed that the team wants to make first Test against Sri Lanka a memorable one for senior batter Virat Kohli. On Friday, Kohli will become the 12th Indian and 71st Test cricketer to achieve the landmark of featuring in hundred Tests.
“It’s been an absolutely brilliant journey for him. A long one since the time he made his debut and to now go and play his 100th game, it’s been a long journey and a wonderful one. He’s done exceedingly well in this particular format, changed so many things in the way team is moving forward and all of that.”
“It’s been brilliant to watch that and it’s one hell of a ride for him and will continue to be in years to come. We definitely want to make it special one for him; we all are prepared for that. Let’s hope we have a good five days of cricket,” said Sharma in the pre-match virtual press conference.
Amidst the hype around Virat Kohli’s 100th Test appearance, the fact that the first Test against Sri Lanka will be the beginning of Rohit Sharma’s innings as the full-time skipper in the longest format of the game has been pushed to the background.
After becoming a proven leader in white-ball matches for India with series wins over New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka, Sharma’s latest challenge is now to replicate the success in Test cricket.
For now, Sharma is firmly concentrated on his job of making the team improve and walk on the right path in Test cricket. “We want to improve every game we play as a team. That is going to be the benchmark we are going to set for ourselves moving forward. We are looking forward to correcting our mistakes made in the past, no team is perfect and you always try to improve in every game. That will be the whole sole purpose of moving forward in the right direction.”
