Ahead of the much-awaited India-England clash in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, skipper Virat Kohli backed wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni by saying that the whole team trusts Dhoni's judgement in the middle overs.
His remarks come as Dhoni has been criticised over the past few days over his slow strike-rate during the middle overs period. Dhoni came under severe criticism over his slow innings during the Afghanistan match. In the match against West Indies, Dhoni took his time, but he was able to capitalise in the final over of the innings.
"I think I have said it after the last game he knows what he needs to do, he cannot be told what to do, we believe in MS Dhoni and he's stood for the team every single time we are very happy with how the batting is going," Kohli told reporters during the pre-match conference.
Men in Blue's pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar suffered a hamstring injury during the team's match against Pakistan on June 16 and he was ruled out for two-three matches. The seam-bowler is close to achieving his full fitness, but with Mohammed Shami springing good performances, Kohli said it would be a headache to choose between these two once Bhuvneshwar achieves full fitness.
"Bhuvi is a world-class bowler, Shami in the last year has come around so well - he's fitter and picking wickets - he has that hunger. Bhuvi is recovering fast but it's a headache to have and we will take a call as per situation," Kohli said.
England find themselves in a must-win situation against India as they have lost their previous two matches against Sri Lanka and Australia.
Kohli said it's a bit surprising to see the hosts perform like this, but he said pressure has a funny way of taking its toll on the team.
"We are very excited about the match. Everyone is a bit surprised by England's performance. We thought they will dominate in their conditions. But pressure is a massive factor in the World Cup. I have played in two World Cups, so I know how pressure can take its toll. Anyone can beat anyone, we got a scare from Afghanistan," Kohli said.
Kohli added that he did not have any expectations regarding the pitch conditions and said batsmen need to find ways for scoring runs.
"We did not come here with any type of expectations with the pitch conditions. You have to find ways for scoring runs. Our focus is to do the basic things right, the more you attach emotion to your performance, then it can hamper your performance on the field," Kohli said.
India have won all their matches in the World Cup so far and they are the only unbeaten side in the tournament. A win against England will take them to the semis and form shows they are well on their way to the last-four stage.
from Sify.com
Comments
Post a Comment