Mohali: Virat Kohli realises the significance of the World T20 clash against Australia here on Sunday, and has called on the team to “stay absolutely focused and not to get carried away” as India look to qualify for the semifinals.
Kohli accepted that the games against Pakistan and Bangladesh were a “humbling experience and the team cannot win on reputation alone”.
“It was very good to get that win (over Bangladesh). It is very difficult to be consistent in this format and one needs to come to terms with that. Sometimes you need character to get you over the line and that is why our spinners and Hardik (Pandya) were brilliant for us.
“One cannot just go out on reputation and confidence thinking that we will win. The last games have been a humbling experience for us,” he said. Asked if India needed to do anything different on Saturday, he said, “I don’t think so. Sometime we tend to get carried away by the occasion or the importance of the game or the situation we are in... This format requires you to be at the top of your focus and concentration for 120 balls while batting and in the field as well. So I think that’s the only thing we can look to, to stay in the moment and not get carried away... the result takes care of itself if we do all the processes right.”
India haven’t really got going as a unit in their run up to the final group game, but Kohli says it is important to win irrespective of the victory margin. He also praised skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for keeping a calm head and “taking India to victory” against Bangladesh. “The most striking thing for me (vs Bangladesh) was that he did not throw the ball on the last delivery. I was at long-on, so I did not know how far he was from the stumps.
“But eventually I thought that to decide so calmly in that situation that you will beat the batsman with your running and not the throw, I think it’s commendable. It’s a big risk but the calmness with which he took that risk, he was sure that he will beat the batsman with his pace. While he had one glove off, still he took the decision that was absolutely safe,” Kohli said.
