As Virat Kohli is gearing up to lead India in an ICC tournament for the first time, he would consider himself a bit lucky since the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy will not be an unfamiliar ground for him.
The 28-year old newly-appointed India’s ODI skipper was a part of the team that had lifted the trophy four years ago in England under his illustrious predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The Men in Blue had blown away every team that came in their away, as they lifted their second Champions Trophy title. They remained unbeaten in the pool with comfortable victories over South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan.
In the semi-finals, India hammered Sri Lanka by eight wickets before defeating hosts England in a low-scoring thriller in a rain-curtailed final.
Kohli is counting on the takeaways from the last tournament and is hoping to get a similar performance from his teammates in the eighth edition of the Champions Trophy.
Speaking ahead of the team’s departure for England, Kohli said that Rohit Sharma-Shikhar Dhawan combination at the top of the batting order was one of the biggest takeaways from the previous edition. The duo had shared two century-plus stands and as many fifty-plus stands to play an integral role in India’s dominant performance in England four years ago.
Kohli also acknowledged the contribution of the spinners and the fielders. Ravindra Jadeja had topped the bowling charts with 12 scalps in five games while Ashwin picked up eight wickets at an impressive economy-rate of 4.41.
“The last Champions Trophy, two takeaways, which I think, were the takeaways were the opening partnership,” Kohli said. “Revelation of Rohit and Shikhar as an opening pair was the very great thing to see for all Indian fans. That was a massive factor in us winning the trophy. Ash and Jadeja were on top of their game anyway. The way fast bowlers bowled and the way we fielded. We were the best fielding side in the tournament then. These three things we identified back then and would like to stick to the same strengths. These three factors determine how you play in English conditions, and how far you can go in a tournament like this,” he added.
India will begin their title-defence from June 4 by taking on arch-rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston.