Virat Kohli gives befitting reply to Boult after he says he will emulate Afridi vs India

Team India will take on New Zealand in a crucial match of the Super 12 of the T20 World Cup on October 31. Both sides will enter the contest after suffering a loss against Pakistan. Team India skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday addressed the media in a pre-match press conference and answered a series of questions ahead of their match against the 'Black Caps'. Among the many questions, Virat Kohli reacted to Trent Boult's threat that he will emulate Shaheen Afridi's spell against Team India on October 31. Trent Boult, during a press conference had stated that will try to replicate Shaheen Afridi's spell and try to do exactly what the Pakistan pacer did against India.

Speaking at the press conference, Virat Kohli acknowledged that New Zealand has some quality bowling line-up, however, Team India has played against them before, therefore, the 'Men In Blue' is aware of what will come in their way.

"We obviously will come up against some quality bowlers in this competition and the intensity which this tournament operates at is very different. So we know that we have played against these individuals, it is not something out of the ordinary that is going to come our way. It all depends on how we take the field mentally and how we counter it if Trent says he wants to replicate what Shaheen did against us then he is motivated to do so and we need to be motivated to put pressure on him and counter that," said Kohli. 

"That is how the game goes, we understand what we need to do. Not thinking about other scenarios is the key to batting in pressure situations," Kohli added.

Virat Kohli on Toss factor & Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Furthermore, Virat Kohli also addressed the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and acknowledged that Toss might play a big factor in the upcoming match.

Talking about the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kohli said: "I do not want to single out any individual. As a bowling group, we failed to take wickets and we understand that can happen in the sport. It is not a guarantee that every time you take the field, you would not be able to pick a wicket. These are the same guys who have done the job for us, we understand where it went wrong against Pakistan."

The Men in Blue skipper also admitted that the toss is becoming a big factor in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

"Yeah, it will continue to be a big factor and that is the nature of the tournament. You can look at the situation in two ways, you can bank too much on the toss and you can challenge yourselves as a team that even if you lose the toss, you are good enough to bowl or bat at any situation. Two-three overs can change the course of the game, for us, our only focus is how those eleven individuals are placed mentally," said Kohli.

"It has been a long break for us, we have waited a long time and we are just itching to go out on the park," he added.

(Image: AP)