Kolkata: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Thursday hoped Yuvraj Singh will play the 2019 World Cup before calling it a day ahead of his 300th One-day International (ODI) against Bangladesh in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final in Birmingham. "@YUVSTRONG12 just so proud of everything u achieved... 300th game big milestone... another World Cup to go before u get old," Ganguly, who is also in England doing commentary, tweeted moments before the high-voltage game began at Edgbaston. Harbhajan Singh
15 Jun 2017 6:07 PM GMT
The nine-wicket demolition of Bangladesh exceeded even Virat Kohli's expectations but the skipper quickly played down the hype around the upcoming blockbuster Champions Trophy final against arch-rivals Pakistan.
A clinical India, riding on Rohit Sharma's unbeaten 123 and Kohli's 96 not out, proved too strong for Bangladesh in the second semifinal of the marquee ICC event here on Thursday. India will lock horns with Pakistan in the title clash on Sunday. "Another complete game. We needed to have a clean, collective game. We didn't expect to win by nine wickets, but that's the quality of our top order," Kohli said at the post- match press conference.
As expected, he was asked about the Pakistan game, and Kohli repeated what he had been saying all along.
"We're taking it as any other game, I know that's boring but that's our mindset."
The captain was not worried that India's middle order was not getting enough opportunities to have a go.
"It's never a worry when your middle order isn't batting too much. Everyone is hitting the ball magnificently in practice. It's a worry when your middle order is required to bat too early in the game, too often."
Kohli lauded Kedar Jadhav, whose two wickets proved decisive in restricting Bangladesh to 264 for seven at the Edgbaston.
"He's not a surprise package (Kedar), he's a smart guy, he knows where to pitch the ball and see what the wicket is offering. It could have been close to 300." Asked about his own effort with the bat, Kohli said, "I wanted to give myself some time, 10-15 balls. Last time, we lost a wicket, so I had to adapt, I like those challenges. I grew in confidence. When you're coming onto the short ball, you know you're playing well."
Man of the Match Rohit said the wicket eased out as the innings progressed.
"It was a great knock, especially when it comes on a winning note. Have been trying to get a big one, in the last two games. Was quite determined today (Thursday)."
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