‘Had butterflies in my stomach,’ says Virat Kohli on playing his 100th Test

Virat Kohli had “butterflies” in his stomach and “felt nervous” like a debutant when he walked out to bat in his 100th Test.

He scored 45 and looked well set before being bowled by Lasith Embuldeniya on the opening day of India’s first Test against Sri Lanka.

“I am preparing as I have always prepared. As long as I am batting well, I am not bothered. We are somehow crazy about milestones and materialistic achievements,” said Virat Kohli.

“It felt like I am making my debut. Had butterflies in my stomach, did feel very nervous,” he said on being asked how he felt when we walked out to bat.

Although, he said that he needs to convert his starts into big innings.

“Obviously disappointed as I got a good start. I was batting well. You obviously feel disappointed as a batsman. Endeavour is always to make sure to play a big innings for the team and put the team in a strong position,” he said.

One of the pertinent points that he raised was that in a post COVID-19 world, there is very little time left for course correction when one needs to do it.

“It’s not an easy environment to get away from game and work on things you need to finetune,” he added.

“It’s been tough playing three formats and IPL for so long. Proud of how I have handled my physique, my body.”