Virat is very hungry to score for the team: MS Dhoni

India beat Australia by 6 wickets in a quarter-final of the World T20 2016 at Mohali, both the teams needed this win to go through to the semi-finals of the tournament and India powered by a superb knock from Virat Kohli sailed through the 161 runs target that Australia had set them.

Indian skipper was full of praises for his lieutenant and the way he shaped up his innings. MS Dhoni said: “I think it was a tough score. If you see their batting, first 6 overs they got close to 60 runs. After that we bowled well but still they got to 160. It was difficult to hit from the back of a length. There was not enough bounce to pull it away. But looking at the side boundaries, we felt we could put their fielders under pressure. It’s not the first time I have enjoyed his batting from the non-striker’s end. He has done it consistently from the last 2-3 years. We have seen him evolve as a cricketer. He has kept improving his game. He is very hungry to score for the team. Now the other batsmen need to step up too. Can’t always rely on him. I feel that we are batting at 65% of our potential barring Virat. Yuvraj Singh was very good with the ball and I felt that Pandya bowled well too. The credit needs to go to the bowlers for pulling the game back from the 6th over to the 14th over. Running between wickets is a key aspect of modern cricket. Every side has fielders who are not very quick. The moment you convert singles to doubles off the best fielders, the others get demotivated.”

Virat was the man of the match for his match-winning knock, while talking to the presenter at the post match presentation Virat Kohli said: “Thank you. Firstly, I would like to thank the crowd for coming out and supporting us; the support today was unbelievable. They (the crowd) push you through tough times. This is what you play cricket for. You need challenges in veery game because they improve you as a cricketer, but you don’t like these situations because they are tough. I don’t know what to say, because I am overwhelmed by the situation we were in and to win from there was quite an effort. MS kept me calm in the end; I could have got overexcited. Overall good team effort and very happy with my personal contribution. Yuvraj wanted to see where he was going after he twisted his ankle. But he stuck in and a few boundaries helped, and then he decided to go for the team’s cause. He perished but he made a great call. He wasn’t able to push as you want him to push as a runner. He’s such an explosive player that you don’t want to have him at 60-70%. Me and Dhoni have always run well between the wickets. We have a great understanding about where to hit the ball. You do gum for that and all those fitness regimes paid off tonight. When I’m tired, I should be able to run as fast as when I’m on zero. This innings has to be in the Top 3. But I am a bit emotional, so I will put this on top. Against world-class Australia, a quarterfinal and at home. Mohali has always been special and the semifinal in 2011 was special too. The electrifying atmosphere in the stadium helps you push through.”

The Australian skipper didn’t have much in his control when you have someone as classy as Virat in the opposition batting with such intent. Steve Smith said: “That was a serious innings from Kohli. Zampa could have bowled one more over. But Virat played an unbelievable knock. I thought 160 was about par. And it took an incredible innings from Kohli to take them over the line. We let ourselves down in the game against NZ. It’s been great fun to play here at the World Cup.”

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