England is a special place to play cricket: Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli during India’s net session ahead of the first Test match, Nottingham

Indian batsman Virat Kohli has said that he is looking forward to play Tests in England, especially at Lord’s, a venue that is considered as the ‘home of cricket’, and that he has “some goals to achieve” in the 5-match Test series, which begins on 9 July.

The Indian Test No. 4 said : "England is a pretty special place to play cricket. I'll be playing a Test at Lord's (July 17 to 21) for the first time so all in all, a very exciting tour for me personally because I have never played Test cricket here before. I am really looking forward to it.

"I have some goals I want to achieve and I have been thinking about them. I am pretty excited about playing here, and it is right up there with the toughest venues for subcontinent players.”

Stressing on the importance of the first match, which he believes will set the tone for the rest of the series, the 25-year-old said: "You have to be thinking about winning the first game of the series, putting on a strong performance. In a five-Test series the first game obviously sets the tone, and the other team has to claw back.”

“England have played some really good cricket here. So have we. In the last tour we didn't play so much as we wanted to. On the previous tours before that, India has done well here. We can take a lot of confidence from that.”

“The first game will be really important to set the tone. There is a lot of time to come back but whoever wins the first Test will obviously hold the advantage. Both teams will be eager to getting off on the right note," the Delhi lad, who has 6 Test centuries to his name, concluded.