Virat Kohli on WTC Final: Just another Test match

England is not a place that Virat Kohli has many happy memories of as a skipper Six months after MS Dhoni stepped down as Indiarsquos limitedovers captain in January 2017 his heir Kohli led the team to the Champions Trophy final only to be comprehensively beaten by Pakistan at The OvalTwo years later Kohlirsquos team went down to New Zealand in the ICC World Cup semifinal at Manchester despite being one of the most consistent performers in the 50over tournament Kohli amp Co are back in the same country and all set to square off with Kane Williamsonrsquos Kiwis at Southampton today in the firstever ICC World Test Championship finalStaying true to their nature of playing consistent cricket India qualified for the final by topping the points table in the most ruthless manner coming back after being 01 down to beat the Aussies in their own backyard 21 and toppling England 31 at home One would think an ICC trophy would be an ideal reward for one of the worldrsquos most consistent cricket teams However for skipper Kohli the outcome of this final will be immaterial to a side that set out to achieve ldquoexcellencerdquo every daylsquoStriving for excellencersquoldquoIf you are talking about Test cricket and deciding who is the best Test team in the world in one game over a period of five days thatrsquos not the reality of the truth Itrsquos not gonna reflect anything for people who understand the game and who know what has gone in the last four or five years This for us is just another Test match You can very well look in history and see what has not gone your way At the end of the day you realise we play sport and you are going to be beaten and you are going to win on some daysldquoIf you win this game cricket is not going to stop for us If we lose this game cricket is not going to stop for us Our process our mindset is what matters the most to us And we are striving for excellence every day We step onto the field for every game wanting to win Thatrsquos the most you can ask of your playersto stand up in tough situations and keep proving that you belong hererdquo Kohli told reporters on the eve of the final on ThursdayAlso ReadIn seaming conditions its ideal to bat first and soak in pressure GangulyNot the biggest ever matchOne of the most vocal supporters of Test cricket in the T20 age the Indian skipper did not wish to lay too much importance on the WTC final when asked whether this is his biggest ever match ldquoNo for me this is another Test match that has to be played These things are very exciting from the outside where there is so much importance extra stuff attached to it and it becomes a doordie situation For us itrsquos the quest for excellence for a while now We want to continue to be on that path regardless of what happens in this gamerdquo he saidIndiarsquos playing XIVirat Kohli Captain Rohit Sharma Shubman Gill Cheteshwar Pujara Ajinkya Rahane VC Rishabh Pant Ravindra Jadeja R Ashwin Jasprit Bumrah Ishant Sharma and Mohammed ShamiAlso ReadWTC Final NZ skipper Kane Williamson not looking too much into favourites tag