Virat Kohli: I don't need a '(c)' next to my name to talk to the players

                                                              Virat Kohli looks on after the game

Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay, batted for two sessions, oblivious to the crumbling state of the fifth day Adelaide pitch. Vijay played out a nervous Lyon over, when on 99 and then watched his skipper get to the three figure mark with ease in the next. The following over, however, triggered an inexplicable collapse. Murali Vijay was caught plumb in front of the stumps, agonizingly short of a deserved ton. He had missed another one earlier in the year at Lord's. 73 runs later, Nathan Lyon had spun Australia to an emotional Test win despite the Indian skipper's best efforts.

Speaking to media at the end of an emotional roller-coaster of a Test, Kohli said the talk in the team was always about going for the win, but that hadn't influenced the dismissals in any way. "I told Vijay to bat like he always does. I also advised him to not think about calculations or the target," Kohli said.

Virat wasn't particularly perturbed by his batting partners' failure to hold one end up either. "It wasn't frustrating watching other batsmen play shots because I backed them to play their shots. I told them to go for it, if it works. Rohit was sweeping. I told him, If you miss two, it's okay. If you hit three, we get three boundaries."

Even after the dismissals of Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli held the key to the outcome of the game with only 60 runs to get. Eventually, he holed out in the deep, in an attempt to clear the field, something he didn't regret.

"Well, I don't regret that shot I hit to get out. I was hoping (Mitchell) Marsh would drop the catch. But no regrets, If I had played the shot better, maybe the end might have been different. But that's a big 'If'. We got where we did, playing those shots. If we had played for a draw, we would have lost the Test by 150 runs," Kohli was quoted as saying.

During his innings of 141, Kohli became only the second captain, after Greg Chappell, to score a century in each innings of a Test on captaincy debut. He also became the first Indian batsman in 53 years to score twin tons in Australia. Kohli, however, added that stats and milestones didn't play on his mind. "I wasn't thinking of milestones. It is the first time I have done that in Test cricket(scoring twin-tons). I was just calculating my innings and the target," Kohli said.

Nathan Lyon's success in the game had many critics pointing to India's goof of leaving out Ravichandran Ashwin for debutant legspinner, Karn Sharma. However, Kohli defended the selection and said that he had taken the call based on the leggie's form in the practice games. "I have to give credit to Karn. For a debutant, he bowled with fields up and challenged the Australian batsman to score."

On whether, incumbent skipper MS Dhoni's return to the side for the Brisbane Test, would change his approach on the field, Kohli added, "I am very happy that he will be fit for the second Test. But, I don't need a (c) next to my name to talk to players. I think I have enough respect and friendship in the team to be able to talk to them whether or not I'm captain."

The stand-in skipper was also quick to acknowledge the overall quality the Test match had on offer. "I used to think, the Johannesburg Test in South Africa was the best Test I have been part of. That was drawn. I prefer this match. I'm sure the crowd would have loved this match as well. Test cricket should be exciting. No point playing a draw after five days with both teams scoring 700 runs," he signed off.