'Virat Kohli was a foodie, enjoyed fatty foods, sweets...': Karthik opens up on how ex-India captain maintains fitness

Dinesh Karthik praised Virat Kohli for his 28th Test century, and also revealed to fans how the former India captain maintains his incredible fitness.

India wrapped up the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in style, drawing the final Test match to clinch the series 2-1 in Ahmedabad. After being completely outplayed in the first two matches, the visitors staged a comeback to win the third Test, with the series at 2-1. Trailing India by 88 runs at the start of Day 5, Australia had to bat a little over two sessions to ensure the draw, and they lost only two wickets in the day. Marnus Labuschagne (63*) and Steve Smith (10*) remained comfortably unbeaten for Australia, who reached 175/2. With 17.5 overs remaining, Australia declared to give India 15 overs to bat, which is when both sides agreed to end the match in a draw.

India's Virat Kohli raises his bat after completing his century during the fourth day of the 4th test match against Australia, at Narendra Modi Stadium.(ANI)

With Sri Lanka losing to New Zealand in their Test match, India also qualified for the WTC Final despite a draw. The fourth Test saw plenty of positives with Ravichandran Ashwin taking a six-wicket haul in the Aussie first innings, which saw Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green slam centuries. Meanwhile, Indian batters also responded in style with first Shubman Gill bringing up his ton in the first innings, smacking 128 runs off 235 balls, including 12 fours and a six. Then, Virat Kohli also hammered his 28th Test ton, his first in three years.

The former captain was at his dominant best, showcasing incredible technique and resilience. Kohli clobbered 186 runs off 364 balls, with most of his runs coming off singles, doubles and threes. During his knock, he clattered 15 fours.

Praising the RCB star, India cricketer Dinesh Karthik explained how Kohli maintains his incredible fitness. The wicketkeeper pointed out that Kohli's discipline helps him in maintaining his fitness. "Number one and first word that I will put is discipline. Second thing, fitness is not about just and only hitting the gym or running. It is a lifestyle. So what you put into your mouth is as important as the amount of workouts and running you do and that is where Virat Kohli is brilliant. He was a foodie, he used to enjoy all sorts of fatty foods, sweets, just like all of us", he said during an interaction with Cricbuzz.

"But he put a massive cut on all of that so that he can become the cricketer he wants to be and that's the sacrifice you need to make. Have a look at the bigger picture and say if that is what I want to be in 5-10 years time, I need to cut down on certain things in my life that I am doing right now. That's the decision he's taken and you can see the results that have followed", he added.

Karthik also went on to say that Kohli kept on working on his fitness even though he wasn't in good form and was facing plenty of criticism. "It is a great case of not giving up because when he's had his bad run, things weren't going his way, the one thing he consistently kept doing is training and eating well. So there are many moments during that when his mind says it's okay, do something that you've probably liked before, stay happy. But he has given up on that, sacrificed on that, hoping that one day it will come to use and these are the kind of days when he's batting on 130, 140, needs to take that quick single", he said.