Kohli's mastery comes in handling pressure through singles: Dhoni

Since Dhoni himself brought up the K name, Kohli’smastery of run-chases was sought to be dissected. “Well, it’s very simple,” Dhonisaid. “What an innings is all about is how you convert it when you’re under pressure. There are a few ways to handle pressure. At times we have seen, in Test cricket, or ODI and T20 format, when there is a lot of pressure, often they go for the big shot. It seems at that point of time that that’s the best option, but when you’re under a lot of pressure, the best way to deal with it is to take a single, go to the other end, because that calms you down, and at the same time you have that positive intent because you’re looking for that single. And you know your areas.

“Everybody knows what his strength is – for some it’s a flick, for some it’s the cut. So if it’s in your area, you have to play your shot. If not, try to take a single, go to the other end. And if you see Virat’s batting, that’s what he really does. He loves batting with individuals who can run hard with him, because running hard is the easiest way to score runs and that puts a lot of pressure on the bowler and the fielders. That’s what it’s all about, you know – how you calculate, what is the stuff that you need to do.”

Including the bowl-out win over Pakistanin the 2007 World T20, Indianow has a perfect 11-0 record against their cross-border rival in 50 and 20-over World Cups combined. “If we are proud of the fact that we have a 11-0 record, there is also a reality that one day we will lose – whether it is today or in ten years or 20 years or 50 years,” Dhoni reasoned. “There is no such thing that you will always keep winning. Also, our team has evolved a lot. Somehow, in ICC events, our performances have been good of late, whether it’s the last Champions Trophy or the World Cup. We have given pretty good performances, so that also plays a role (in this record against Pakistan). I feel we have played good cricket, and that’s the reason. It’s something to be proud of, but at the same time, like they have the pressure of 0-11, we also have the pressure that you have won 11 matches. It’s either ‘You’ve won 11, and so you’ve also won the 12th, big deal,’ or ‘What? You didn’t win?’ That’s all there is to it.”