MS Dhoni walking out of Eden Gardens with Virat Kohli after scripting a comprehensive 6 wickets win over Pakistan. Image Source: Xtra Time[/caption]Internet Desk: A capacity crowd at the Eden Gardens witnessed why Virat Kohli is a class act. Just as he bailed out India against Pakistan in Asia Cup final in Dhaka, he did it once again at the iconic venue guiding his team to a comprehensive victory in the Super 10 Group 2 encounter of World T20.
The best part of Kohli’s batting is his willingness to take up challenges, irrespective of how tough the situation is, Dhoni pointed out.
“Virat’s hunger to perform and the willingness to take up challenges stand out. He’s always in a positive frame of mind. It’s the common example of whether you call a glass of water half empty or half full.
“Virat takes everything as a challenge and wants to contribute in each and every game. No matter how the situation is, he remains unfazed. He understands how to score in different wickets and knows how to convert starts into big scores, which is important for any youngster coming into the side.
“It’s important for a cricketer to know how to minimise his rough patch and extend the purple one. And as far as Virat is concerned, he knows it well enough,” Dhoni said after India’s six-wicket win in this Group II clash.
Talking about his observation of Kohli from the other end, Dhoni elaborated: “An innings is all about how you convert it into a big one and tackle pressure.
“The best way to tackle pressure is taking a single and going to the other end. Normally, you tend to hit your way out of trouble, but that might lead to a rush of blood. The risk factor, thus, is greater in this case. So, taking a single and going to the other end is the safest option.
“That’s what Kohli does. He runs hard, which is the easiest way to score. Also, he loves to bat with those who can run hard. Running hard really puts pressure on the bowling side.”
“I can’t answer what I have in mind…” Dhoni quipped when asked about India’s confidence of turning things around after a difficult start.
Dhoni stressed on the importance of winning the forthcoming matches, along with improving the net run rate as well.
“To come back strongly shows the character and mental strength of our players. Still, there are areas we can improve on and in the coming games, we have to look into those.
“Besides, we need to keep in mind that it’s just not about winning those matches. We have to consider the net run rate as well because that could play a very important part later,” Dhoni said.
Speaking about India’s all-win record so far against Pakistan in World Cup and the World T20, Dhoni said,“We just keep the things same. Yes, we have won all the matches (against Pakistan) in these two events, but reality is, we might well lose some day or the other. You can’t keep on winning…
“Yes, in ICC events, we have done quite well while our team has also evolved. It’s good being proud of leading 11-0. But just as pressure is on them every time, we too have the pressure of sustaining/extending the lead. ‘You couldn’t win the 12th match…?’ We might have to face such questions then…” was Dhoni’s reaction.
He supported his decision to field second at Eden gardens considering the dampness in the wicket due to the spell of shower before the match.
“Initially, I never thought that the pitch would offer so much of turn… Don’t think the wicket got much sunshine today. Because of the moisture underneath, spinners got a lot of turn.The reason behind fielding was the initial assistance to bowlers. We got to see how the wicket behaved. It was such a wicket that could have only got better. Pakistan would also be under pressure to get those 20-30 extra runs.”
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