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Captain Kohli tiring of pitch talk

India's captain expresses frustration ahead of final Test against South Africa in Dehli

India may have already won their home series against South Africa – the No.1 side in the world, no less – but captain Virat Kohli was in a less than happy mood ahead of the final Test of the series, starting today in Dehli.

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Kohli is a passionate cricketer, one not averse to speaking his mind, so he wasn't at his most buoyant when several questions directed at him a day before the series finale against the Proteas revolved around the nature of the pitches, especially the one used for the third Test in Nagpur.

Pitches in this series have been the centre of attention, but the Indian camp has been staunch in their defence.

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Every press conference has had at least one question about the surfaces used and if Kohli thought things would get better in the lead-up to the Delhi Test, the ICC's ruling that the Nagpur pitch was officially "poor" put paid to any such hopes.

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When asked what he thought about the pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in Dehli, Kohli urged reporters to focus on matters of bat and ball rather than the 22 yards in the centre of the stadium. 

"I don't want to talk too much about the pitch. Because there has already been a lot of talk about it. If we have to talk about the cricket, it will be better," he said.

"Because when the team wins, the support should come from all quarters. Always, we look at points to criticise. There's hardly a point where the team is backed to make them confident.

"So, in my view, I don't understand the logic behind it. There have been comments from all sides about the pitch.

"I don't think anyone has written articles about the Adelaide Test which finished in two and a half days. So I don't see anything wrong with any kind of wicket that we play on."

But the questions about conditions continued, and Kohli remained unimpressed as he spoke of the South African pitches and the difficulties batsmen have had there in recent years.

"Well there have been three scores of under 50 in Test cricket in South Africa, (but) I haven't seen any sort of articles on that," he said.

"Teams have been bundled out for under 100 about six times in South Africa, (but I've) never seen an article about that.

"Articles are there to be written. It's the mindset or opinion of someone.

"I don't relate to it. I don't understand it and I certainly don't entertain it. It doesn't bother me or the team. People can write their opinions as they wish."

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But what about ICC's rating of the pitch, and the fact the BCCI have been given 14 days to respond to their ruling?

"Yeah, I'm talking about everyone. I'm not talking about people writing articles in general. It is an assessment that's happened in every condition and in every ground. Unfortunately in our situation and in our country it's highlighted a bit too much. That's a fact," Kohli said. 

"The only thing we have been talking about is the pitch. In South Africa, the only thing we were talking about is how badly we were playing.

"It's been going on for a while. There's no change in (the) pattern. 

"The Indian team is going into a new mindset and changing their thinking but apart from that, the thinking of the rest around it has not changed too much.

"Because we are criticised about our games and techniques when we don't play well. But when visitors don't play well, it's always the wicket.

"So there is no sense to it as far as I am concerned or the Indian team is concerned."

While several pitches around the world have been criticised by players and pundits in recent years, none apart from the surface used at Trent Bridge in 2014 were hauled up by the governing body. The surfaces in Abu Dhabi and Perth last month were panned by experts for being too batsmen-friendly, but no action was taken. 

For Kohli, the surfaces used in this series have provided value for money when it comes to entertainment.

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"I think it was good Test cricket. People have liked watching it on TV," he said.

"You saw the crowds in Nagpur, you saw the crowds in Bangalore. Even in Mohali we had a decent number of people come through.

"People want to see results and people want to see exciting cricket and that's exactly what has happened in this series. We have certainly enjoyed it."

Word out of the South African camp is the Feroz Shah Kotla track will be more friendly for batsmen than Nagpur, raising the prospect of the Test lasting longer than three days.

Which could be a blessing for the likes of Kohli if it helps take the focus off the pitches for once.