We love pressure games: Kohli
First Published : 18 Mar 2012, 14:00
Last Modified : 18 Mar 2012, 14:00
Mirpur, Mar 18: India’s vice-captain Virat Kohli spoke to the media ahead of the crunch game against archrivals Pakistan at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.
Excerpts from the television interview:
On how playing Pakistan was different from facing other teams
Playing Pakistan is always special. It has always had its history and we always love the challenge that is there in this [contest]. It is going to be an exciting game for us. It’s a big game for sure and hopefully we can express our talents.
On whether he feels there is extra responsibility on him now that he is vice-captain of the side
Well, I haven’t thought about it too much but obviously when you have been given [a duty] like that, you need to think of yourself in a more responsible way. But I am not thinking too much about it. I am just thinking of myself in the team as I did before. I am going to do the normal things that I do.
On the extra pressure while playing against Pakistan
It is a big pressure game for both the sides and that’s why we play international cricket – [because] we love challenges, we love playing under pressure. If you do well under pressure, there is nothing more satisfying than that. So yes, we are looking forward to it.
On the defeat against Bangladesh
I don’t think we played bad cricket at all. They played better than us on that day and any team can upset anyone in international cricket. We probably didn’t play well for those last five or six overs. Other than that, we played a really good cricket game. We are taking all the positives from that game into this game as well. We are going to execute our plans in this game, hopefully.
On the victory against Pakistan in the World Cup 2012 semi-final spurring them on
[We have the] mental edge but we are not going to look back at it because it has been one year since that happened. They have been playing some really good cricket as well. They have won both their games [in the tournament so far]. They are a strong side so it’s going to be a good, competitive match and hopefully we can pull this one off.
