London: India skipper Virat Kohli has called on his team to remain calm and composed and not to get succumbed to the big match pressure in what will be a virtual quarter-final against South Africa in the ongoing Champions Trophy to be played at the Oval on Sunday.
Sri Lanka batted superbly in their last match against India to earn a comprehensive seven-wicket win over the defending champions and levelled the group out ahead of Sunday’s game.
“It’s a very important game for us. It has a lot to offer to both the teams. Both the teams will play with 120 % commitment and with full passion,” said Kohli while addressing a press conference on the eve of the match.
“I think you need to have a good balance, being passionate and competitive about the game but at the same time, not getting over excited, treat the game as normal as you can. I think the team that treats the game as normal as they can is the team that’s in a better position to get the right result.”
“Lot of times, teams come and they want to do something special and end up messing the game in important situations. The team that has the most composure will have a better chance of winning the game. Composure will be the biggest word for tomorrow,” he added.
While the defeat against Sri Lanka has brought some added pressure on the Men in Blue as the game against AB de Villiers-led side has become a do-or-die encounter, if rain spoils the proceedings and the match does not take place, meaning both the teams have to share a point then India will definitely enter the final four because of their better NRR.
Similarly, if the Pakistan versus Sri Lanka game gets washed out then South Africa will become the second team from Group B to enter semis.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers(c), Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Farhaan Behardien, Morne Morkel. (ANI)