Two matches into their T20 World Cup campaign, India are winless and on thebrink of elimination. On Sunday, India only managed to post 110 in their 20overs – a total that New Zealand breezed past with 5.3 overs to spare – andVirat Kohli, their captain, put it down to his team not being “braveenough” during the game. This, he explained, was characterised by theirbatters getting caught in two minds while looking to take risks, reports ESPNcricinfolinkMonday.
“Quite bizarre. To be very honest and brutal up front, I don’t think wewere brave enough with bat or ball,” Kohli told the host broadcaster duringthe post-match presentation. “With the ball, I mean, obviously we didn’thave much to play with, but we were just not brave enough with our bodylanguage when we entered the field, and New Zealand had better intensity,better body language, and they created pressure on us from the first overonwards, really, and continued that through the innings.
“Every time we felt like we want to take a chance [while batting], we losta wicket. That happens in T20 cricket, but that’s most probably or mostoften the result of that little bit of hesitation with the bat, when youfeel like should you go for the shot or not.”
Playing for India in a global tournament always comes with the pressure ofexpectations from the biggest fanbase in the sport in the world, and Kohlisuggested India hadn’t managed to overcome that pressure in their two gamesso far, against Pakistan and New Zealand.
“When you play for the Indian cricket team, you obviously have a lot ofexpectations, everyone knows that – not only from the fans but from theplayers themselves,” he said. “Wherever we play, we are watched, peoplecome to the stadiums to support us, so there’s always going to be more withour games, that’s always been the case, and we’ve embraced it over theyears, and everyone who plays for the Indian team obviously has to embracethat as well, and learn how to cope with it.
“And when you cope with that as a team, you tend to overcome that pressureand those tough situations. And we haven’t, in these two games, and that’swhy we haven’t won.”
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India are now in the awkward position of being all but out of thetournament, but still having to play three more matches in their group.Kohli said India would have to ensure they remained in a positive frame ofmind through these three games.
“There’s only one way to play T20 cricket – you have to be optimistic, youhave to be positive, take calculated risks, and that’s what this format isall about,” he said. “Just because you’re the Indian cricket team andthere’s expectations, doesn’t mean that you start playing the formatdifferently.
“So I think you have to disconnect from that a little bit and just backourselves out there and take pride in performing for the team. As long asindividuals are looking to do that, I think we’ll be fine. There’s a lot ofcricket to play in this tournament, something that we all must look forwardto, and certainly the team must look forward to, and go out with a positiveframe of mind.”
