Virat Kohli delivers thinly-veiled swipe to Australia after Champions Trophy clash
Indian cricket great Virat Kohli has delivered a brutal shot to Australia in the wake of their Champions Trophy victory.
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Indian maestro Virat Kohli dug the knife in deeper after a starring role in his team’s Champions Trophy semi-final win over Australia, declaring opponents “give in” when he gets on top.
Fallout from the defeat could include an inquiry into the selection of Cooper Connolly, who made a nine-ball duck, including a six-ball stretch of misses having been picked to open for the first time in a 50-over game.
Connolly, 21, was only added to the squad after an injury to opener Matt Short and selected in front of Jake Fraser-McGurk, with more questions about his place in the squad after failing to play a single game in the tournament.
Picking Connolly proved a poor choice as he failed to get bat on ball six times against veteran Indian opening bowler Mohammad Shami before eventually edging one to the wicketkeeper.
Connolly has now played four ODIs for just 10 runs, having also made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Galle and his T20 debut last year in England in a fast-tracking into international cricket that has raised eyebrows.
His effort with the bat in Dubai paled in comparison to Kohli, who made 84 runs off 98 balls in a masterful effort to help steer India past Australia’s total of 264 with four wickets in hand and nearly two overs to spare.
After controlling the inexperienced Australian attack, which including Connolly (1-37) and another young spinner, Tanveer Sangha (0-41), playing his first game for the tournament, Kohli made the stinging appraisal of the opposition.
“This game is all about pressure, especially big games like semis and finals, and if you go deep into the innings, and you have enough wickets in hand, the opposition usually gives in, and the game becomes easier,” Kohli said after picking up the player of the match award.
“It’s very important to control your impulses while the game is going on.
“For me, what’s important is to know the number of overs and the number of runs left. Even if the gap’s 25-30 and it comes to six an over, I’m not bothered. If we have seven or six wickets in hand (and) two set batters, we can turn the game around. The opposition can only come into the game with wickets. That was the plan out there.
“My timing, the composure at the crease, I wasn’t feeling desperate. I was happy knocking ones around. When, as a batsman, you start taking pride in hitting those singles into the gaps, that’s when you know you’re playing good cricket.”
Australian captain Steve Smith conceded Kohli was a hard man to stop when in control but remained adamant the players he took to the tournament would learn from the experience.
“He’s arguably the best chaser the game has seen. He’s done it numerous times against us,” he said.
“Some new guys there who I thought did a really good job as well, so they’re going to be better for the exposure to a big event and playing against world-class players like the ones we came up against today and throughout the tournament.”
India will now take on either New Zealand or South Africa in the Champions Trophy final with the second semi-final to take place on Wednesday night (AEDT).
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Originally published as Virat Kohli delivers thinly-veiled swipe to Australia after Champions Trophy clash
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