My heart was pumping – Virat Kohli recalls the 2018 tour of England

Virat Kohli had proved his mettle in all the conditions, except for England, before the 2018 tour to the United Kingdom. Kohli had a dreadful run in the 2014 tour, where he ended up scoring only 134 runs in five Test matches at a horrific average of 13.4.

In a recent podcast of RCB, Virat Kohli, who led India in the 2018 tour of England, revealed how nervous he was before went out to bat in the first Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Kohli had to face the first ball from James Anderson, who had breathed down his neck in the 2014 series. The talisman revealed he felt more relieved after leaving the first ball.

“My heart was pumping because all I could think of was the flashes of 2014. I walked in and there were about 35,000 people at the stadium and they all started booing the moment I entered the field. My heart started beating faster. They have this amazing ability to create an environment where you feel like I have got no chance here.” said Virat Kohli.

Meanwhile, Kohli went on to score a fine knock of 149 runs in the first innings as he batted at his best. Kohli also acknowledged that he had the rub of the green on his side as he was dropped by Dawid Malan in the slips.

“I remember James Anderson was the guy running with the ball, and I was like, what are the odds here I am facing the first ball from him again after four years. In my mind, I was like ‘please just play the first ball and he bowled it at the fourth stump and I left that ball’.” said Virat Kohli.

“I became calm after that first ball and then I got dropped at 22. I could have got out on 22 in that innings but I got 149 and I didn’t look back from there, so that’s when you realized that you just can’t sit there and crib about things that didn’t go right. There are a lot of things that went right. So much wait was lifted from my shoulder.” he added.

Kohli had a successful tour of England in 2018 as he scored 593 runs in five Test matches but his efforts went in vain as India lost the series by 4-1.

Meanwhile, Kohli returned with scores of 44 and 20 in the second Test match against Australia and looked in good touch.