ICC Champions Trophy: Virat Kohli plays down hype around Indo-Pak final
London: Virat Kohli on Saturday played down the hype around the India versus Pakistan game on the eve of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final at The Oval on Sunday.
“It is just another game of cricket tomorrow, whatever the result we have to go forward and play more games after that,” said Kohli during the pre-match media interaction.
“The more relaxed you stay in these kinds of situations, it is a good thing because it helps you take better decisions,” added the Indian skipper.
While India, who enjoy 12-2 record against Pakistan in ICC events and have defeated the arch-rivals in their opening game of the tournament, are pre-tournament favourites, Pakistan have surprised quite a few after making it to the finals.
Kohli though refused to believe India have an edge over Pakistan despite winning the last game between the two sides.
“Both teams want to win the final. I'm sure all the players will come out and give their best,” said Kohli.
Virat Kohli said that the team is not looking at past results and statistics. "As a team, we want to win. We don't want to look at the stats and the history. We don't focus too much on past records," he said.
The captain also added that he is not looking back at their first group game, which was also played against Pakistan.
"I don't see any relevance of the first game here because you can never tell how a particular team starts a tournament. Some teams start very confidently and then they fade off. Some teams might not have the best starts and come back amazingly, which Pakistan have done," the skipper further stated.
Virat Kohli also added that Pakistan cannot be written off, and that they can be at their best on their day. “Everyone is aware of the talent they have in their team. On their day, they can beat any side in the world,” he commented.
The 28-year-old from Delhi also stressed on the importance of big games. "Everyone knows, after you reach a stage in a tournament like this you cant basically work on you techniques anymore with the ball or with the bat. Its how you think about the game and how you prepare for big games", he added.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dinesh Karthik, Mohammed Shami, Ajinkya Rahane, Umesh Yadav.
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (Captain and wicketkeeper), Ahmed Shahzad, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Mohammed Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Hasan Ali, Mohammed Amir, Rumman Raees, Junaid Khan, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail.
