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NEW DELHI: Indian batting mainstay Virat Kohli on Saturday said he is “feeling really free” mentally after delivering another match-winning knock that sealed the three-match ODI series for India, where he finished as the leading run scorer with 302 runs.

Kohli smashed a brisk 45-ball 65 not out in the third ODI after hitting consecutive centuries in the first two matches, extending his record tally to 53 hundreds as India cruised to a nine-wicket win over South Africa.

Also READ: Virat Kohli storms past Sachin Tendulkar with another stunning record

“Honestly, playing the way I have in the series is the most satisfying thing for me. I feel really free in my mind. I haven't played like this in 2-3 years,” Kohli told the broadcaster after the match.

“I know when I can bat like that in the middle, it helps the team a long way. Makes me confident, any situation in the middle, I can handle that and bring it in favour of the team,” he added.

On dealing with doubts and rediscovering rhythm

Kohli admitted that self-doubt is unavoidable for any batter, regardless of experience, but said it ultimately helps in growth.

“When you play for that long — 15-16 years — you do doubt yourself. Especially as a batter when one mistake can get you out. It's a whole journey of getting better and getting better as a person along the way. It improves you as a person and it improves temperament as well,” he said.

“I'm just glad that I'm still able to contribute to the team. When I play freely, I know I can hit sixes. There's always levels you can always unlock,” he added.

The Ranchi hundred stands out

Adjudged player of the series, Kohli finished with 302 runs at an average of 151, including two centuries and a fifty, and said the ton in Ranchi was the most memorable.

“The first one at Ranchi, because I hadn't played a game since Australia. Just how your energy is on the day, Ranchi is very special for me and I'm very grateful as to how these three games have gone,” he said.

KL Rahul on handling conditions and key spells

India captain KL Rahul said it was important to give the bowlers a breather after the dew affected the first two encounters.

“We got tough conditions in the first two games. So, it was good to give the bowlers a break in a wet outfield. (The surface) was still a really good wicket, what we were able to do was pick up wickets in bunches,” he said after India bowled out South Africa for 270.

India’s win was shaped by Prasidh Krishna (4/66) and Kuldeep Yadav (4/41) during the opening half of the match.

“We were able to squeeze in the middle. Prasidh picked up those two or three wickets in a spell which was really crucial and then Kuldeep coming in, picking two wickets in an over. In ODI cricket, that's how you try and contain teams,” he said.

Temba Bavuma rues soft dismissals

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said his side “gifted” wickets to India after collapsing from 168 for two to 270 all out.

“We would have wanted to make it a lot more exciting today. From a batting point of view, we didn't have enough runs. It tends to get easier under lights. Probably should have been smarter as we gifted wickets,” he said.

“The Indian team showed their quality - kudos to them. We could have been a lot more smarter, if you look the first two ODIs, we did that. Probably today, the conditions were different. You never want to get bowled out in a 50-over game.”

Bavuma on taking positives

Bavuma, however, was pleased that his side managed to challenge India’s spinners through the series.

“We have definitely grown, we speak a lot about how we want to play,” he said.

“India have quality spinners and it's never easy to put them under pressure. For large parts of the series we did that. I think if there were 10 boxes, we ticked 6 or 7 of them.”

(With PTI Inputs)