Kohli made these comments during the Indian team’s interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a breakfast meeting in New Delhi on Thursday. "Virat tell me, the battle this time was full of ups and downs," PM Narendra Modi asked the right-handed batter about his time in the tournament.
To this, Kohli replied, "Thank you for inviting us all here. This day, I will forever remember it. I was not able to contribute as much as I wanted to do. I told Rahul Dravid at one point that I was not able to do justice to myself and this team. He told me that he had the belief that I will deliver when the situation arises."
"I told Rohit Sharma also, when we walked out to bat (in the final), I was not very confident, but after the first delivery, I told Rohit 'What is this game? One day, you feel you won't even be able to score a run. And another day, you feel like it's all coming together'.
"Especially when wickets fell, I wanted to surrender myself to the team. I was in focus. I was in the zone. After that, I realised that whatever is meant to happen will happen. This (the triumph) was bound to happen for me and the team.”
"Even in the end, when the game headed towards a tense finish, we lived every ball. At one point, the hope was gone. After that Hardik Pandya took a wicket, and it changed and we came back with every passing delivery," said Kohli.
PM Modi highlighted that the support of people coupled with Kohli’s belief in himself, became a driving force at a crucial point. "Everybody was feeling it. You had scored 75 in total (before the final) and in the final (76). There is a reward when you have the backing of everyone. It becomes a driving force," he said.
Player of the tournament, fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah talked about doing his bit to help the team in tough situations during the tournament. “Whenever I bowl for India, I bowl in very crucial stages. Whenever the situation is difficult, I have to bowl in that situation.”
“So I feel very good when I am able to help the team and if I am able to win the match from any difficult situation, then I get a lot of confidence and I carry that confidence forward as well. And especially in this tournament, there were many situations where I had to bowl tough overs and I was able to help the team and win the match,” he said.
--IANS
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