Asia Cup 2016: India vs Bangladesh - Live streaming, team fixtures.He is among the most dreaded batsmen in international cricket right now but Indian swashbuckler Virat Kohli says he has made peace with one shortcoming in his game, that he can’t strike big sixes.
Kohli has hit only 27 sixes in 33 T20Is compared to a whopping 127 boundaries. And talking about his game ahead of the Asia Cup, the right-hander said he had come to terms with being just a boundary-hitter.
“The game plan in my initial days in T20 was to get 10 off 10 and then take off. But I realised that I don’t have the kind of shots to hit big sixes. I have come to terms with the fact that I cannot hit big sixes so I focus on boundaries,” Kohli told mediapersons ahead of India’s Asia Cup T20 opener against Bangladesh here on Wednesday.
“Our team has good momentum going into Asia Cup. We cannot be over-confident and we have to respect every opposition,” said Kohli.For the first time in history, the Asia Cup will not be played as a 50-over competition, but will instead be a T20 affair - a decision taken by the Asian Cricket Council to help the region's teams prepare for the world title. But if the tittle to follow happens to be the ODI World Cup, the Asia Cup will return to its original format. So it will be flexible from this 14th edition onward.
India blanked hosts Australia 3-0 at the start of the year before returning home for a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Sri Lanka. The team will look to continue the winning momentum when they meet their neighbours Bangladesh. The Indian vice-captain was all praise for Mustafizur Rahman, the pacer who tormented the Indians during their last visit where they lost the ODI series 1-2.
“Mustafizur has done really well in the last one year. He spices up the game. It’s important for the game to have bowlers, who come in and trouble the batsmen. It makes the game more competitive. As a batsman also, it becomes more exciting because you think that you have to prepare differently for a bowler, who has brought something new.”
Kohli also feels that in a tournament like next month’s World T20, it is very difficult to just focus on two or three teams as it can upset the game plan.
“Every team is dangerous in T20. On a particular day, we are not looking at any team as major threat. We will take the challenge very similarly be it any team from around the world, that’s the way we need to approach a tournament like the World Cup. “If you focus on two or three teams too much, then one tends to lose focus on the rest. Every game counts in this format. Things can change very quickly, momentum is a big factor. Both India and Bangladesh are very strong but we are not focusing on strengths of the opposition too much because we need to back our strengths than find out the weaknesses in the opposition to win matches.”For the first time in history, the Asia Cup will not be played as a 50-over competition, but will instead be a T20 affair - a decision taken by the Asian Cricket Council to help the region's teams prepare for the world title. But if the tittle to follow happens to be the ODI World Cup, the Asia Cup will return to its original format. So it will be flexible from this 14th edition onward.
India blanked hosts Australia 3-0 at the start of the year before returning home for a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Sri Lanka. The team will look to continue the winning momentum when they meet their neighbours Bangladesh.
