‘Need to suppress your ego at times’ – Rahul Dravid lauds Virat Kohli after India’s Border-Gavaskar series triumph

Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

India head coach Rahul Dravid lauded Virat Kohli for his performance in the fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Kohli smashed a stunning 186 off 364 in India’s first-innings total of 571.

Meanwhile, Indian coach Dravid was asked about his thoughts on Kohli scoring a century and he praised Kohli for keeping his ego aside throughout the series.

“The one very good thing we got to see here was that however great a player you might be, you need to suppress your ego at times, which is why you score 75 centuries. As coaches, we get frustrated at times. I listen a lot that this is my style and I will play like this only,” Dravid said while speaking to Star Sports in a post-match interview.

“In this match, a big player showed that if the situation is like that and the team is going slightly defensive and not giving you boundaries, you can score a century while playing differently and playing for the team. You hit only five boundaries in the first 100 runs,” the coach added.

Dravid also pointed out that the star batter could have easily thrown his wicket away to take the attack to the Aussie bowlers. “He could have gotten frustrated. He could have said that he would hit and dominate but he knew that the team did not require that in that situation. This is the specialty of great players,” observed Dravid.

Rahul Dravid draws parallel between century of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma

Dravid also drew a parallel between Kohli’s hundred and captain Rohit Sharma’s ton from the first Test in Nagpur.

“We saw Rohit Sharma’s hundred as well in the Nagpur game. He scored quick runs on the first day and then when he came on the second day, Australia put pressure on him, and he remained a little defensive. He bided his time and then scored a century,” he said.

The final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended in a draw as India won the series 2-1. Notably, Kohli was named the Player of the Match for his blistering knock, while Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin shared the Player of the Series award.

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store