“But in moments like this and big games, it’s more about holding your composure, which we all know about. It’s not easy, but I’m happy to win this and happy to get over the line this time. I think I’ve batted in times like this in three out of the five games. And one of the games I didn’t get to bat at all against Pakistan.
“The game’s given me good time in the middle and good time to prepare for a big moment like this. It’s hard to put in words, but it’s just pure skill and the way we’ve all played our cricket growing up. We’ve had to face a lot of challenges. We’ve had to face pressure from the time we held the bat and from the time we decided to be professional cricketers. I think it’s just the first-class cricket, BCCI, how they’ve groomed every player, every talented player that comes around. They’re giving us opportunities and platforms to showcase our skills and to put ourselves under pressure and keep challenging ourselves and getting better.”
“Oh, brilliant. You know, that was calm, composed [from KL Rahul]. He took his chances at the right point of time. I think this is what KL Rahul is. KL Rahul has immense talent, and I don’t think anyone can hit the ball the way he can. I think that was the exhibition of how he did today.”
“To be honest, I love to be under pressure whenever there’s a challenge. I feel I thrive under pressure, and I love such moments. It’s just that I’ve been getting amazing starts in the tournament, and not able to get a big one, but at the end of the day, if I’m able to contribute to a team victory, that is immensely satisfying, and I’m truly happy.”
“Watching him [Virat Kohli] on the TV when I was a kid, and then playing against him, and seeing the intensity at which he plays, it’s just phenomenal to watch, and I think it tells us what the game is all about, giving his everything, and that’s the only thing that he talks about, even off the field as well – give your everything when you’re playing on the field. For him to be able to back his words like that, is just phenomenal.”
“These [title wins] are the things after playing for so long, such a long career, you look forward to situations where you’re put under pressure, and you walk in and you put your hand up. I think to win titles, which has kind of been missing in the past, the whole team has to step up in different games, and if you see this tournament over the course of five matches, everyone has put their hand up somewhere or the other, and that’s why we ended up winning this tournament. People have made such impactful knocks, such impactful spells, and it’s only a collective effort that can win you a title, and I’m just so happy that we were able to play as a unit, just really enjoy ourselves. We’ve had such an amazing time as a team here, in practice sessions, off the field, on the field, it’s been honestly an amazing tournament for us.
“As Shubman said, I try to speak to these guys as much as possible, try to share my experience, how I’ve been able to play for so long, try to step in wherever I can to help improve their games. It’s only, as they rightly say, when you leave, you want to leave the place in a better position, and that’s our effort. That’s what we’re striving for, that when eventually we are finally done, at whatever stage, we have a squad that’s ready to take on the world for the next eight-ten years, and these guys definitely have the talent to do so.
“Well, amazing [on New Zealand]. You know, we’ve always been in awe of what they can do with the limited number of players they’ve had over the years, and just maximise their talent to the absolute maximum.
“Every time you’ve played against them in big games, you know they’re going to come with a set plan, and no other team in world cricket executes plans as well as they do. They just know… every fielder knows where the bowler’s going to bowl, and you can sense it they’re all attacking the ball because they know the bowler’s going to be so accurate, so credit to them. They’ve been probably the most consistent team in the last few years in big tournaments, and the reason for that is their immense belief in their skills, and the amount of talent they have, they utilise that to the maximum, and easily the best fielding side in the world, so yeah, huge shout out to them. They continue to display why they are one of the top teams in the world, and again, a great campaign. Sad to see a very good friend of mine [Kane Williamson] on the losing side, but I’ve been on the losing side a couple of times when he’s been on the winning side, so only love between us.”
More to follow…
Content Source: www.espncricinfo.com