CT 2017: Nobody embodies pressure quite like Virat Kohli, says George Bailey

Australian cricketer George Bailey is eagerly looking forward to the big clash between India and Pakistan in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy. Bailey recently wrote a column for cricket.com.au where he spoke at length about the big final clash. In his column, he had a special mention of Virat Kohli. Bailey showered praises on the Indian skipper lauding his ability to deal with pressure big time.

The amount of pressure that the Indian players feel could well be seen by the overseas players during the IPL, cited George Bailey. Talking about the CT final, Bailey remarked that it will be a big contest since both teams fancy chasing. “Given Pakistan’s desire to bowl first and India’s love of chasing, the toss could be a big factor in what should be a brilliant spectacle on Sunday,” quoted Bailey.

“No one embodies that pressure quite as much as Virat Kohli, who seems to be back to his absolute best. As an opposing captain, you can feel pretty helpless against him sometimes, particularly in a run chase. The game just seems to move away from you so quickly when he’s controlling things like that,” he added.

India’s top order and Pakistan’s chances

Speaking further about the Indian top order, Bailey rightly cited that the Indian batting has not solely been about the skipper Kohli. There are the Indian openers – Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma – as the top two leading run scorers in the tournament this year. However, a strong top order is something that can potentially help the Pakistani team as well. If they manage to dismiss the top order, they can put the middle order under considerable amount of pressure. This is exactly what the Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur had also spoken about.

“But it’s not just Virat. The way Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have been batting allows Virat to play as he wants because he has such faith in those around him. It means he can go out and play with a real sense of freedom knowing that if it doesn’t work out, there’s other class batsmen to help him out. And that’s the strength of Indian cricket. They’ve been amazing again in this tournament and it’s no surprise to see them in another final,” he quoted.

“Their middle order hasn’t been under the pump because their top order has been so dominant. So it’ll be interesting to see if Pakistan can take a couple of early wickets and put a bit of pressure on. But the way India are batting at the moment, that’s a big if,” remarked Bailey.

Final remarks on the final

Giving his final verdict on the game, Bailey went ahead with the call that most people have been giving. He noted that India surely have the upper hand in the big finals. To validate his point, he cited that the Indian team has had the edge over Pakistan in the ICC events. Pakistan undoubtedly is a class side but at the moment, team India looks just too good.

“I’ve leant towards India for most of the tournament and I still think they’ll win the final on Sunday. They’ve had the wood over Pakistan in major tournaments and I think India always tend to respond to the hype of a final and playing against their big rivals. Pakistan could definitely beat them if everything goes their way, but I think if you played this game 20 or 50 times, India would win a lot more games that Pakistan. So I have to tip India,” quipped George Bailey.