Team India captain and prolific run-getter Virat Kohli on Tuesday hinted that he might give the three-day pink-ball warm-up game against Australia A a miss, as India prepares for the upcoming four-match Test series against rivals Australia.

Kohli’s comment comes following India’s defeat against Australia in the third and final match, as India clinched the Twenty20 international tournament 2-1.

The tour game against Australia A will begin in three days time and will be India’s final tune-up ahead of the opening day-night Test in Adelaide from December 17.

In the post-match presentation following India’s defeat in the final T20 game, Kohli said, “I will wake up tomorrow and see if I can play the tour match. Playing it on and off is not my thing and I like to play the full game. I will talk to our physio and then decide on my participation.’

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Kohli will lead India in the opening game of the four-match series following which he will go back to India for the birth of his first child.

Following the series victory, Kohli praised his India side and said, “We are finding ways to come back and give the opposition a scare and the series win is a little asterisk for us to finish the 2020 season on a high.” 

Batting first Australia amassed 186 runs in their twenty overs, with opener Matthew Wade scoring 80 of 53 balls. Hard hitter Glenn Maxwell added 54 from 36 balls to help Australia place a 187 run target for visitors India.

Batting second, team India lost opener KL Rahul, cheaply, however, captain Virat Kohli added 85 runs from 61 balls to give his side a fighting chance in the game. India, however, succumbed to 12 run loss as they could only muster 174 from their 20 overs.

In the post-match presentation, Kohli said, “At one stage when Hardik started going we thought we could pull it off. The middle over phase during our batting cost us the game. A partnership of 30-odd would’ve made it easier for Hardik.”

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Playing in front of fans amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Kohli said, “I feel the crowd was a factor as well, it’s always giving you a dimension of motivation. Our crowd pulls us through sometimes, and Australia has got great support too, and we as players feed off the crowd’s energy.”

He added, “We need to take the same competitive attitude into the Tests, and having played here a few times, we can score runs as well.”