Kohli is not taking Bangladesh lightly and that mindset is imperative to avoid an upset

Such has India’s consistency been in reaching the final stages of International Cricket Council tournament that anything less than lifting the trophy is considered as a disappointment.

After winning the Champions Trophy in 2013, two years after their second World Cup triumph, India have reached the final of a World T20 and reached the semi-final of another. Their World Cup defence in 2015 was also impressive, stitiching an unbeaten run till the semi-finals.

The heigtened expectations is something that even India skipper Virat Kohli acknowledged. He said: “I’m happy to know that it is considered a disappointment if India doesn’t go on to win the tournament that they are going into.

The credit goes to everyone. Our transition in limited overs has been easy. Even the new bunch of cricketers coming through are waiting to prove their worth at the big stage.”

Being no strangers to knockout games meant that his side know exactly what do in pressure situations. Their previous encounter, against South Africa, was a testament to the ease with which India have been dealing in a do-or-die situation. However, Kohli was quick to temper down expectations, pointing out the unexpected turn of results in the group stage. “We have been in these kind of games before but there are no guarantees in this sport, as we have seen in the league stage.

Lot of teams have surprised their opponents. We are going to use the momentum we have gained in the the tournament so far. Our mindset does not change [From the group stages to the semi-finals].”

Winning combination

After India’s loss to Sri Lanka during the group stages, there were question marks over India’s bowling combination [They had played with 4 seamers and 1 spinner in the first two matches].

Spin ace Ravichandran Ashwin made way, only to be brought back against South Africa, where he impressed. Kohli hinted that India would play the same XI on Thursday, “I think Ashwin was brilliant in the last game. And I don’t see any good reason to change that. The team played really well. It was a complete performance. I certainly don’t think that there is a need to change anything,” he said.

With the Indian top order consistently among the runs in the tournament so far, then lower middle-order has hardly been tested. The 28-year-old backed the likes of Hardik Pandya and Kedar Jadhav to step up, if their services are needed and praised the duo’s mentality, “[Lower middle-order not getting batting practice] is not a concern. As a batsman you want to finish off games and given a chance, everybody would want to finish off games.

We are not bothered at all. Kedar and Hardik are playing well right now. They, along with Jaddu [Ravindra Jadeja] and Ash [Ashwin] are waiting for a chance, and if a crisis situation comes up, they will be able to step up. That is the mindset they have created.”

‘Dangerous’ Bangladeshis

Kohli was full of praise when asked about Bangladesh’s recent progress. The two subcontinent sides have been tangled in bit of on and off-field rivalry over the last two years. More evidence of that can be found on social media, where fans from both sides have engaged in banter that has overstepped the line on a number of occasions, “It’s no surprise anymore to anyone that they are doing really well and they have improved their cricket. Credit goes to their set-up and the kind of players they have. Now they are taking more responsibility.

They are a very dangerous side and everyone realises that. No one takes any opposition for granted. Bangladesh have taken huge strides. They themselves say that in the last couple of years. Even in the World Cup 2015, they were really good,” he said.

Kohli also rubbished any attempts of Thursday’s contest turning into a grudge match between the teams. There was some bitterness that lingered around the Bangladeshi fans during the aftermath of their quarter-final exit against India in the 2015 World Cup. “It’s been 24 months and I don’t think anybody is thinking about the game. Nobody is thinking about what has happened in the past.”

‘Mindset doesn’t change’

Kohli the batsman has also been in excellent touch during the Champions Trophy. On either side of a duck against Sri Lanka, he has amassed scores of 81 not out against Pakistan and an unbeaten 76 against South Africa.

The aforementioned half-centuries saw the classy batsman reclaim the no.1 spot in the One-day International batting charts just a day ago. Kohli stated that his “mindset doesn’t change” before going into a big game, and that it remains the same, irrespective of the stage and setting. He said “My mindset doesn’t change before a big game. It is not like I think differently from an IPL or a First-Class game. At the end of the day, you’re playing a game of cricket and I don’t change my mindset.”

On the evidence of all the upsets that have unfolded in this tournament so far, Kohli must ensure that his words resonate with the entire team as Bangladesh will be ready to pounce on any hint of complacency