Guwahati, Nov 28: Make hay while the Sun shines, goes the old adage. Virat Kohli seems to be making most of the purple patch he is going through since the disappointment of Sri Lanka. Virat smashed back-to-back centuries to lift India to 276 against New Zealand in the first ODI of the five-match series.

Virat, who was named the Man of the Match for the 105 off 104 balls, said that he has been asked to bat through the innings and this has worked wonders for him.

Excerpts:

On scoring back-to-back ODI centuries:

It feels good. I was told by my teammates that probably only six batsmen have done this (scoring back-to-back centuries), so I am really happy to be part of a list that only big players have done in the past.

On his thought process:

I went in there to make the most of my good form. You know it happens when you don’t get much runs and one struggles for them. I know that feeling. I just wanted to make the most of the good patch I am going through. And hopefully I will continue in the next matches.

On becoming the fastest Indian to reach 1,000 runs in ODIs:

Yeah, it feels good. I had a kind of lean patch in Sri Lanka recently but the teammates stuck with me. The coach stuck with me and backed me so I would like to thank them as well. I have been able to put up good performances recently and hope to continue in the same fashion.

On his role:

I try to probably stop myself from hitting big shots initially and enjoy scoring in singles and doubles. It is important to analyze that who is hitting from the other end. I have been lucky that I have players who can accelerate from the other end. My duty has been to hold one end and accelerate towards the finish to push my team in a good position.