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Need to play good cricket consistently to remain No.1: Kohli

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By Chetan Narula Port of Spain, Aug 17 (PTI) Indian skipper Virat Kohlihas said that his team isnÂ’t reading too much into the newlyacquired number one ranking in the longest format as theyprepare to take on West Indies in the fourth and final Teststarting here tomorrow. The visitors need to win the match to maintain theircurrent spot, in light of AustraliaÂ’s loss in Sri Lanka. "ItÂ’s a nice incentive but it doesnÂ’t really changeanything for the team. Our goal has been to play good cricketand weÂ’ve done that in the past year or so. And we want tocontinue with the same," Kohli said today. "Even last year, when we beat South Africa, because ofsome other team losing, we became number one for a briefperiod. To really become the best team in the world you needto play consistent cricket for a span of 3-4 years. This ispretty immediate and short-term incentive. "You have to play sustained cricket for a good periodof time to be the best team in the world. We have played goodcricket thatÂ’s why we have climbed up the rankings, but if yousee we have played lesser number of games than the otherteams. ItÂ’s only after we play a good number of games that wecan be judged. WeÂ’ve played good cricket but I think only atthe end of the season, we can look back how we have played andthen figure out where do we stand," he said. India will be looking to continue their dominance overthe West Indies in this fourth Test. The biggest challengefacing the visitors will be the revised batting line-up, withKohli again indicating that he will continue to bat at no.3. "If weÂ’re playing five batsman and if we are looking tobat someone at five, then the batting order we played in thelast game works. When we play six batsmen and four bowlers, inhome conditions maybe, then the combination might bedifferent. But we are open to both," he said. "And personally, I donÂ’t have to prepare differently. Forme, the mind set matters before I go in to bat. It can be anyposition but if you are mentally fit you will be able toexecute." There still could be a couple of changes, particularlysince Murali Vijay is now fully fit and deserving of a call-upafter suffering an unlucky thumb injury in the first Test. Heis expected to partner KL Rahul, with Shikhar Dhawan sittingout. There could be one bowling change as well, if India aretempted to test their bench strength. "If the wickets are drastically changing from one venueto the other, you will see a change here and there, especiallywith one bowler playing in front of the other. As far as thepool goes, we have a very good squad here. The stand-byplayers we have back home have the skill set as well. Everyonehas been briefed about the roles they have to play. We haveplayers who are ready accordingly," Kohli said. PTI CN BSBS

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