KOHLI URGES INDIA TO KEEP COOL
London, June 10: Virat Kohli has warned India must keep their emotions under control when they face South Africa in a do or die Champions Trophy showdown on Sunday.
With so much at stake, Kohli says his players should relish the chance to show their best form in front of the watching world. “As a cricketer honestly for me personally, I crave games like this,” Kohli said.
“You want to be part of matches that are as important as this one and then if you perform in that and your team gets across the line, it’s a different feeling. It improves you as a cricketer. Everyone looks forward to games like these and everyone is very excited.”
But, while Kohli believes India will thrive under pressure, the batsman doesn’t want his players to get carried away trying to be the hero of the moment.
“You need to have a good balance of being competitive, being passionate about the game, but at the same time, not getting over-excited,” he said.
“The team that treats the game as normal as possible is the team that's in a better position to get the right result. A lot of times, teams come in and they want to do something special and end up messing up the game in important situations.
“The team that can have the most composure, I would say, to sum it up, will have a better chance of winning of the game on Sunday That’s what I’ve experienced in the past, and you tend to get over-excited, and then you commit errors that can cost the team important runs.”
Kohli insisted the South Africa clash isn’t the biggest of his reign as captain because he has been dealing with huge expectations for years.
“To me, every game the same; you win some, you lose some.”