The Australian media seem determined to not let Virat Kohli have the last word on the Decision Review System controversy but whether they like it or not, in this case, the Indian skipper has played his cards well.

He helped the umpire catch Steve Smith red-handed and if anyone watched the game, they would have had no doubt about what was happening in the middle. Regardless of what the International Cricket Council match referee or the cricket boards say about the controversy, we all know what happened and it wasn’t fair… it wasn’t cricket… it wasn’t just a plain and simple “brain fade”.

But that’s that. Steve Smith erred. He wasn’t punished and there isn’t much else that can be done. Kohli wants to move but it was clear that many in the media haven’t.

The questions that were thrown Kohli’s way in the press conference on the eve of the Ranchi Test were so off tangent that when one journalist finally asked a question about the game, the Indian skipper couldn’t help but say: “Thank you for asking about cricket.”

There were no questions about Mitchell Starc’s injury and how India look at it, nothing about how well Murali Vijay has recovered or even about team composition. Rather the questions were all about DRS-gate and the pitch.

Not angry

The Kohli who turned up for the press conference today wasn’t angry. The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s decision to pipe down may not have been one that he would have made but he has made his peace with it. He now just seemed like someone who wanted to get on with the game.

“We have seen instances in the past where things stretched too long and it just causes disharmony and there is no outcome. You will always have two sides of the coin. That just takes the focus away. It’s best interest of everyone to move on.”

Kohli further added: “You move on when you get attached to it. It’s not the first time in my life people have spoken about me, certainly not the last time. See I would have done few things right in my career to be given the opportunity to captain the side. As long as you’re honest to yourself, you work hard on a daily basis, you are answerable to no one.”

When the questions didn’t stop, Kohli simply shrugged his shoulders and said, “Everyone has their own opinion and I’m not challenging anyone’s opinion. I’m not going to hold a banner saying ‘don’t speak ill about me’. It’s fine. It’s all a part of the whole journey. You won’t play 15-16 years of international cricket without being criticised.”

A better break

India would have no doubt had the better break between the two Tests – the win in Bengaluru would have given them a huge boost and Kohli said as much – but there are still many aspects to be worked on. The performances in the first two Tests have been nowhere near as good as the team management would’ve liked.

But the one thing that isn’t going to change is India’s attitude. As Anil Kumble said on Tuesday, you can still expect them to play hard cricket and not take a backward step.

“I don’t want to curb any natural instinct of the players as long as they go out there and do what is expected of them. I don’t think we need to read too much into the aggression. Every player has his own way of having a game face,” Kumble said ahead of the third Test.

And Kumble’s statements are spot on but at the end of the day, a sport must speak for itself. No matter what Kohli may say off the field, winning on it will be the best revenge he can have against an Australian team that refuses to see where it went wrong.

Lose and you can be sure that India will never hear the last of this. Win and you can be sure the visitors will never hear the last of this. Either which way, it will be decided in the middle. So come Thursday, the chatter will hopefully stop and the focus will once again turn to the game. After all, it’s finally time to play some ball.