India urged to build on Pakistan rout

No pressure on underdogs Sri Lanka: Mathews

LONDON, June 7, (Agencies): Virat Kohli has urged India to produce a repeat of their Pakistan demolition when they face Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy on Thursday.

Kohli’s side made a memorable start to the tournament as the defending champions crushed arch rivals Pakistan by 124 runs in Birmingham on Sunday.

After India piled up 319 for three in 48 overs, they turned the screw on Pakistan, dismissing them for 164 as they failed to chase down a rain-reduced target of 289.

It was the perfect response to reports of a rift between India captain Kohli and the team’s coach Anil Kumble.

Kohli knows momentum can change quickly in one-day competitions, especially against a desperate Sri Lanka team looking to bounce back from defeat to South Africa in their opener. But Kohli hopes the confidence boost from beating Pakistan will help India secure another victory in their second Group B match.

“Every game in this tournament is big, but we have a side with a few youngsters coming in and gradually getting towards strengthening their careers for India,” he said.

“So I think from that, from the team’s point of view, it’s a massive win for us.

“Just the way we played and the confidence we showed throughout the game was something that was very pleasing to see as a captain.

“Even though we lost the toss, guys were raring and ready to go, willing to take up the pressure.

“That gave all of us the confidence to start striking the ball well, but initially the openers gave us a good start as well.

“As I said, it’s a clinical performance from us, from the team’s point of view, yes, it is indeed a very big win.”

Kohli, with 81 not out off 68 balls, and Yuvraj Singh, named man-of-the-match for a rapid 53, both battered the Pakistan attack after Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan laid the platform for a big total with an opening stand of 136.

A repeat of that batting blitz against Sri Lanka at The Oval would put India on course for the semifinals and Kohli expect Yuvraj to lead the charge again.

“After I got to 50, I wasn’t able to freely play. And Yuvraj came in and just took all the pressure off me,” he said.

Angelo Mathews insists there is no pressure on Sri Lanka in their crucial Champions Trophy clash against India on Thursday because the defending champions are expected to thrash his underdogs.

Mathews’ side must beat India at The Oval to keep alive their hopes of reaching the semifinals, but the odds are featuring the world’s leading eight One-Day International teams.

England looked to have fallen short of a par score despite making 310 all out after Joe Root (64), Alex Hales (56) and Ben Stokes (48) were all dismissed when well set before Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 61 boosted the total.

But fast bowler Mark Wood took the key wicket of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (87) in the 31st over.

Williamson’s exit sparked a collapse that saw New Zealand lose their last eight wickets for 65 runs on the way to a total of 223 all out.

Liam Plunkett took four for 55, with his fellow paceman Jake Ball named man-of-the-match after striking early to dismiss Luke Ronchi for a duck on his way to fine figures of two for 31 in eight overs.

Meanwhile, leg-spinner Adil Rashid justified his recall in place of injured all-rounder Chris Woakes with a 10-over return of two for 47.

New Zealand have been fined for maintaining a slow overrate during their defeat by England in their Group A Champions Trophy encounter at Cardiff on Tuesday.

The Kiwis were ruled two overs short of the target when time allowances were considered by match referee Andy Pycroft.

“If there is a second minor over-rate offence committed by New Zealand during the event with Williamson as captain, he will be suspended for one match,” the ICC said in a statement.

Former Australia Test player Adam Gilchrist can relate to the ongoing pay dispute between the board and the cricketers and is optimistic of a timely resolution of the row which has cast a shadow of doubt over this year’s Ashes series.

Australia face a possible player strike or lockout if the protracted negotiation over a new pay deal for the country’s international and state cricketers cannot be resolved by the June 30 deadline, when current contracts expire.

Gilchrist’s career was in the nascent stage when the current revenue-sharing model came into effect in 1997 and the former stumper-batsman could see the similarities.

“The players are sticking together with that unity, and that was certainly the case back then and I was a young player having my very first contract with Cricket Australia dangled in front of me, and here were my senior peers saying: ‘Don’t sign it, don’t break, don’t crumble’,” he told Fox Sports.

“And we didn’t, and 20 years later conditions are fantastic for players now. There’s no doubt about that. So that end result has been terrific. There’ll be an end, there will be an end to it”.

England’s Joe Root plays a shot during the ICC Champions Trophy match between England and New Zealand at Sophia Gardens cricket ground in Cardiff south

Wales on June 6. (AFP)