Team India should be proud of their efforts in the Champions Trophy feels Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli put forward an example of true sportsmanship when he spoke to the journalists at the press conference with a smile. The Indian skipper failed to take his team home in the Champions Trophy final but that does not overshadow the fact that Kohli is a true hero of the nation.

India went into the mega clash as clear favourites because of several reasons. The quality of the team on paper, their dominance over Pakistan in ICC events and their position in the world rankings made people bet on India with their eyes closed. But a brilliant all round performance from the Pakistani side ensured them a comprehensive win which we can call a cakewalk.

India was poor in all three departments of the game and the players also lacked the hunger to win. Virat Kohli was brutally honest and congratulated Pakistan on their emphatic win. The Indian skipper also stated that the team should not be ashamed of their performance but be proud of their efforts in this edition of the tournament.

“We can be very proud of that as a unit, and we leave here with our heads held high because we understand the kind of expectations and pressures we face as a team,” Kohli said. “Credit to everyone for standing up and showing that resilience and reaching the finals, and today we were outplayed in all departments.

“They had to earn their win. They made us make those mistakes because of the way they were bowling and the way they applied the pressure in the field, as well. And we have no hesitations or shame to admit that we could not play our best game today.”

Kohli wasted no time in opting to bowl first after winning the toss because of the outstanding record of the team when it comes to chasing targets. Things did not go according to plan for the skipper as Pakistan registered a huge total of 339 runs on the board. Pakistan was equally brilliant with the ball in hand as they rattled the Indian top order in the opening overs. A brilliant Mohammad Amir picked up Rohit Sharma in the very first over and followed it up with the all important wicket of Kohli in a short time. Virat Kohli admitted to the fact that India lacked partnerships which cost them the match.

“Early wickets are never good, especially in a chase,” he said. “Then we kept losing wickets. One big partnership would have been the key to set it up nicely. It is always a bad feeling when you get out or the batting doesn’t work collectively. Not that we are not playing at our best, we tried our level best, but we just couldn’t make things happen today. But personally, yes, it does feel bad.”

Despite the loss, there were some positives for the men in blue in the match. A terrific Bhuvneshwar Kumar proved his worth even when all the other bowlers faced the hammering. The right-handed quickie was tremendously economical in his spell and turned out to be an only headache for the Pakistani batsmen.

Hardik Pandya finally paid off for India as he had a decent spell with the ball and a brilliant time with the bat. Pandya came onto bat when India was six wickets down and played an entertaining cameo of 76 runs off 43 balls. But quite, unfortunately, the Baroda boy had to fall prey to a run out after a misunderstanding with teammate Ravindra Jadeja.

The 23-year-old lost his cool and burst out in frustration as he made his long walk back towards the dressing room.

On Hardik’s explosive inning:

“When Hardik started hitting, everyone started getting the feeling that we could take the game deep,” Kohli said. “That was a pleasant moment. If we can take the game deep, then we can probably get closer to the total. But again, a mix-up or an error at that stage, so these things happen on the field, you understand that as cricketers.” added Kohli.

“He felt he was in the zone today and he could have done something really special, and that’s why the disappointment came out. You’re so committed, you’re so motivated that when things don’t happen, and without even it being a mistake, it can get frustrating. You don’t understand why it has happening.” said the captain.

On Fakhar Zaman:

Virat Kohli also applauded the efforts of Pakistani batsman Fakhar Zaman whose century set the tone for a huge score for Pakistan. Kohli claimed that the one department India could have done better in the match was the extras.

“When guys like Zaman get going, he plays unorthodox shots, they’re really difficult to stop,” he said. “Eighty percent of his shots were high risk and they were all coming off. Sometimes you have to sit and say, the guy is good enough on the day to tackle anything. You can only do so much.

“We certainly tried to make them hit in areas that we felt it would be uncomfortable, but we just didn’t have anything going our way in that partnership. Yes, they opened it up a little bit, but they kept going positive, which was something that could have upset the lines and lengths of the bowlers.”