Vibrant Virat hails bowling unit after crushing win against Proteas

After India’s loss to Sri Lanka on Thursday, Virat Kohli and his team sat down to confront a few home truths. “You have to be honest, and you have to sometimes say things that hurt,” he said, after India’s eight-wicket defeat of South Africa ensured their progress to the semi-finals.

“You have to lay it out in front of them – that this is what we did wrong, including me, and we need to take it on the chin. That's why we are chosen among millions of people to play at this level. You can't do the same mistakes over and over again.”

The message clearly got through. India were outstanding in the field, effecting three run-outs, including two in successive overs to remove South Africa’s dangermen AB de Villiers and David Miller. “This was something that we required, this kind of a fielding performance. And before going out, we had a chat in the huddle [where I said] that I want to see everyone's intensity go up, and that a conscious effort we have to make individually in such a big game, you need to start well.”

The tone was set by his new-ball bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Kohli was full of praise for the way they maintained initial control before returning after the run-outs to clean up the lower order with two wickets apiece. Bumrah took the new ball for the first time in the tournament and thrived with the added responsibility.

“He's an attacking bowler,” said Kohli, “and all I said was, express yourself, go for wickets. If you want to york people with the new ball, do it. If you want to bounce people, do it. This is your opportunity. The new ball does quite a bit, and you can get us a couple of breakthroughs.

“We were able to create pressure from both ends. Bhuvi is always very consistent, but I think the way Bumrah bowled really tightened things from both ends. And then we could build from there and get those important breakthroughs.”

India’s victory guarantees three Asian sides in the last four, and Kohli, who contributed an unbeaten 76 to see his side home with 12 overs to spare, suggested that the amount of limited-overs cricket played by subcontinent teams could be a contributing factor. “I think the players are getting more experienced in difficult situations. And not to say that other teams are not playing well, but maybe some of the teams have really surprised the oppositions with the way they have batted and bowled in certain situations.

“It's all about who can play better cricket in a short and competitive tournament like this, and the results are in front of you.”

After demanding and receiving greater intensity from his players in field, Kohli returned to the theme of man-management. “You have to point out things that didn't go well, but at the same time, you don't want to be nagging them too much because they are professional cricketers. You have to understand how to speak to them and how to communicate and discuss things with them.

“They are motivated enough to play at this level and perform. It's just that little things something need a push every now and then, and we embrace it as a team now. We want to put in that extra effort to make sure that in certain situations we apply pressure for long enough.

“For me, you look at every game as a game of cricket. But at times you understand the magnitude of what you are playing in.”

Kohli is used to playing in games of great magnitude, and with another coming up on Thursday, his team appear to be coming to the boil at just the right time.