Champions Trophy 2017 : We Got What We Wanted, Says Virat Kohli
Nov 2, 2023 at 3:51 PM
Both the Warmup matches, winning both and now confidently cruises into the main tournament starting from 1st June, that’s the summary of India’s tour of England so far.
After clinching a win from New Zealand’s hands, India won another game, this time against Bangladesh. India put themselves in a strong position by notching up 324, the match was as good as over when the Men in Blue reduced Bangladesh to 22 for six in only the eighth over of the innings.
Courtesy of Hardik’s big hits towards the end, India crossed the 300-run mark. Skipper Virat Kohli and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not bat, giving others an opportunity to get a good hit before the big-ticket Pakistan game.
With Yuvraj Singh not coming out to bat, indicating that he is yet to get fit, Karthik, after his failure against New Zealand, grabbed the second opportunity.
He added 100 runs with Dhawan for the third wicket after Rohit Sharma (1) and Ajinkya Rahane’s (11).
The pace duo of Umesh and Bhuvneshwar destroyed the Bangladesh batting lineup. Yadav, who can also hit the deck hard, bowled a lethal first spell. The seamers utilised overcast conditions, and extracted sharp movement and bounce from a pitch.
Virat Kohli said in Post match presentation that he is satisfied with his team’s all-round performance.
“Very pleased. We got what we wanted in both the games. Last game as well, the bowlers did a fantastic job. As soon as the cloud cover comes in, it becomes increasingly difficult for the batsmen. Not taking anything from our bowlers. But it gets very difficult.”
He congratulated Karthik on an outstanding performance. Along with him, Hardik, Jadhav and Jadeja also got praise from the Indian captain.
“We back Kedhar and Hardik to do it for us down the order. Hardik was outstanding. Jadeja also played with composure. Dinesh is an outstanding player. We just wanted to give him an extended run. Fielding has been good, catching has been good. All bases are covered. We have ticked all the boxes going into the tournament.”
The team looks confident and well off and balanced. India would kick start their campaign against arch rivals Pakistan on June 4th in Edgbaston.
Virat led team India would look forward to defend the title .