Kohli wary of ‘dangerous’ Bangladesh

VIRAT Kohli is wary of the threat posed by a “dangerous” Bangladesh and insists India are not taking a place in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday for granted.

India topped Group B after impressively seeing off Pakistan and South Africa to advance to the last four, but the defending champions were given a wake-up call in between those wins when they were surprisingly beaten by Sri Lanka.

They are overwhelming favourites to book their spot in a second successive final, while a 240-run trouncing of Bangladesh, who were skittled for 84, in a warm-up match last month is still fresh in the memory.

But, ahead of the semi-final showdown with the Tigers at Edgbaston on Thursday, India captain Kohli said: “There are no guarantees in this sport.

“As we’ve seen, a lot of teams have surprised the opposition and we’re certainly not taking anything for granted.

“We will use whatever momentum we’ve gained in this tournament to execute what we want to. We’re not going to go according to past results and what we’ve done in the past tournaments.

“Going into a big game like this, we’re going to treat it as how we treated the last game. Our mindset does not differ.”

Bangladesh have long discarded their reputation as the whipping boys of elite international cricket, particularly in the one-day format, and earned a first semifinal spot in a global competition with a thrilling win over New Zealand.

Kohli added: “They are a very dangerous side on their day and everyone realises that. Bangladesh have taken huge strides.

“They are playing really good cricket and they are doing a lot of things right to be in that position.

“They have cricketers who are skilled, who are committed to play for Bangladesh and play with a lot of passion.

“They’re really keen to win a lot of games at this level and that shows in their attitude

“Even the other day I thought they were outstanding in the way they applied themselves and chased (New Zealand’s) total down.”