BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom —India captain Virat Kohli says he relishes the intense pressure at the World Cup as he targets a win against England on Sunday that would seal a place in the semifinals.
The two-time champions have won five of their six league games, with one washout, and need to win just one of their last three matches to guarantee progress from the group phase.
Kohli, the world's top-ranked Test and One-Day International batsman, has hit four consecutive half-centuries and on Thursday became the fastest batsmen to 20,000 international runs across all formats.
"I would say that's a lie if I say I'm not under pressure," said Kohli on the eve of the match at Edgbaston. "I'm probably good at hiding it. If I don't (feel pressure) then probably I don't have enough motivation to play any more.
"That is the excitement that all of us carry as international cricketers — to walk into a pressure situation and come out on top." Kohli shows no signs of pressure when he bats but the India captain says it's because he knows how to fake it.
Arguably the greatest batsman of his generation, Kohli also has possibly the toughest job in international cricket — of captaining the national team of a cricket-crazy nation of 1.4 billion.
The 30-year-old, however, seems immune to pressure that comes with his twin roles as could be gauged from his nerveless half-centuries in each of India's last four matches which includes a narrow escape against Afghanistan.
"That would be a lie if I say I'm not under pressure. I'm probably good at hiding it," Kohli told reporters ahead of Sunday's group match against England. "Everyone feels butterflies in their stomach. I'm glad that I feel like that. If I don't, then probably I don't have enough motivation to play anymore.
"I look forward to that, and maybe that's why my body language is the way it is. But in all honesty, everyone feels pressure. It's just the way you portray it to the opposition is what makes all the difference."
England are wobbling badly after two straight defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia and they need to beat both India and New Zealand to guarantee a place in the semifinals. Kohli said he did not know why Eoin Morgan's side, who started the tournament as favorites, had stumbled so badly.
"Look, everyone is a bit surprised. We thought England is probably going to dominate in their own conditions," said Kohli. "But as I said at the beginning of the tournament in the press conference, that pressure is going to be a massive factor to handle and low scores are going to be defended."
"But as I said at the beginning of the tournament, pressure is going to be a massive factor and low scores are going to be defended. We got a scare from Afghanistan... So you can't take anything for granted."
Kohli suggested India would field an unchanged squad with quick Bhuvneshwar Kumar continuing his recovery from a tight hamstring and Vijay Shankar retaining his place at No. 4.
Mohammed Shami, replacing Kumar, has claimed eight wickets in two matches to present India with a pace bowling dilemma. "Shami, in the last year and a half, has come around amazingly well. I've never seen him fitter... he has that hunger within him, and he's bowling really, really well at the moment.
"Bhuvi is recovering very fast. When he gets fit, it's going to be a bit of a headache for us to see what we're going to do."
India have impressed at the tournament in England and Wales but their middle-order batting has been a concern, with M.S. Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav questioned over slow scoring in the middle overs.
Dhoni was criticised for his 52-ball 28 against Afghanistan, a game that India won by 11 runs, but Kohli defended the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman and the other players.
"That discussion is always going to go on because we've had such a strong top order that these guys have hardly had a chance to bat," said Kohli. "We're not looking too much into it. He (Dhoni) knows exactly what he needs to do." — Agencies
