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Kedar's spell was the turning point, says Kohli

[caption id="attachment_47479" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Virat Kohli remained 96 not out against Bangladesh on Thursday. File Pic[/caption] Internet Desk: India registered a convincing nine-wicket win over Bangladesh on Thursday to reach the finals of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 where they will lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday. Opener Rohit Sharma (123*) and skipper Virat Kohli remained 96 not out to seal the victory for Men in Blue. Virat also became the fastest batsman to reach the milestone of 8000 runs in just 175 innings. The Indian captain is taking a less glamorous role in the batting and leaving the flamboyant part to the openers or to other batsmen. According to Kohli he is enjoying his current way of batting and to him the number of runs does not matter at the current stage. “Well, it's not been difficult at all. I'm really enjoying the way I'm batting. For me the number of runs do not matter at this stage. I'm really enjoying the process, and something which is, you know, giving me joy is that whatever I'm practising and how I prepared after the IPL is paying off in this tournament. So I'm pretty happy getting the team across the line, honestly. Doesn't matter if it's three wickets or two or even one. I want to apply myself in any situation possible. Last game was a bit more challenging in terms of chasing a low total and we lost one early wicket so I had to apply differently. But today, again, the way Rohit and Shikhar batted, it just gave me so much confidence heading into the changing room. These guys just went out and especially Shikhar, the way he took off was outstanding,” said Virat. Virat was also very happy with the performances of the pace duo Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/53) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/39), who played a key role to restrict Bangladesh on 264 runs. "They have been outstanding, especially in the last two games. Terrific initially and in the later stages as well. They have wicket-taking abilities, which is something the opposition knows. After the Sri Lanka game, their line and length have been impeccable," Kohli said. "Even in conditions which are not favouring the bowlers, their line and length have been such that they keep producing wicket-taking deliveries. So credit to both of them to getting us close to where we stand," he added. Virat termed Kedar Jadhav’s spell with the ball was the turning point of the match and called him a really smart cricketer. Kohli handed the ball to Jadhav after consulting to former skipper MS Dhoni. "I won’t take the whole credit for this bowling change as I asked MS (Dhoni) as well and we both decided that Kedar is a good option at the moment and he bowled really well. He doesn’t bowl much in the nets but he is smart cricketer. He knows where the batsmen will get troubled and he thinks like a batter when he is bowling. It is always an advantage to any bowler if he thinks like that," Kohli said in the post match conference. "Wickets were obviously a bonus. Hardik went for a few in his first three so we wanted to give him a bit of a break and cover up the overs through Kedar. We knew that he would get us few dot balls but ended up turning the whole game for us," he added. According to Virat it was a complete performance by the whole team as he never thought that they will win the semifinal by this huge margin. "We had another complete game. When we won the toss, I expected another clean and collective performance. Honestly, we never expected us to win by nine wickets but that is quality that we have at the top of the order. Both the guys at the top gave us a great start. It allowed me to play my natural game," said the Indian skipper.India will now lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan for the first time in the final of any 50-over ICC tournament, but according to Kohli his side will play the Pakistan match as just another game of the tournament. "It's the end of the tournament but we will approach it like any other game. It might sound boring. The side that gets less excited and has more composure will win the final. We are very keen to get on the park for the final. We might be tested in the final as well but I am confident of our team doing well when the pressure is on," said Kohli. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvADTrD4ibw&t=2s