Virat Kohli bats for IPL-style playoffs in World Cup
Manchester: Favourites going into the semifinals, one bad day in office ruined India's World Cup hopes, and Virat Kohli suggested the ICC to consider introducing IPL-style playoffs in the knockout stages in future to ensure a level-playing field.
By his own admission, India lost the match in the first 45 minutes of their chase of 240, shattering a billion hopes days after the team finished on top of the league stage.
Asked whether IPL-style playoffs should be an option in future, Kohli said, "Who knows in future. Maybe. If topping the table means anything. I think these things can come into consideration, looking at the magnitude of this tournament."
"That is a really valid point. You never know when that is going to be implemented."
The Indian skipper, however, said the semifinal format has its own charm as it completely negates a team's previous performances in the event.
"But I think that's the challenge and different kind of fun of these games as well that you have to be precise. It doesn't matter what you have done before that. It's a fresh day, fresh start, and if you are not good enough, you go home," Kohli said.
"So you have to accept that, as I said. It's a different challenge for all the teams to turn up on that day and be absolutely at the top of their game and whoever does that they get the result, as you saw today."
Kohli was effusive in his praise for Ravindra Jadeja (77 off 59 balls), who, in the company of Mahendra Singh Dhoni (50), stitched 116 runs for the seventh wicket to keep India in the hunt.
Jadeja's knock came after his tiff with former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who had called the all-rounder a "bits and pieces player".
"I don't think we, any of us had to say anything to Jadeja after what happened over the last one week. He was quite ready to just get on to the park, to be honest (smiling)," said the India skipper.
"And you saw the passion with which he played and we have seen it in Test cricket a few times, he's played knock under tremendous pressure and he's got three triple hundreds in first class cricket if I'm not wrong, so the talent has obviously always been there."
Kohli rated Jadeja' rear-guard knock as one of the best he has ever seen of the left-hander, which raised visions of an improbable win for India.
"And in my watching Jadeja for 10 years, me playing with him as well, this is probably his top quality, like best knock according to me because the kind of pressure, the stage we are at, almost out of the game and then he produces that. So he was very motivated," he said.
"Yes, at that stage, we all felt like in the changing room the game can be closed out, it can be done, but then again he played so well and then a mistake can happen at any stage -- I don't think it was even a mistake, it was lack of execution which in one-day cricket you have to take a risk here and there," he said.
"I'm really happy for him because he's been a very understated cricketer but a top quality cricketer for India in the field, with the ball, with the bat, priceless."
Kohli was also full of praise for the Black Caps, saying he wasn't at all surprised by the way they came out fighting while defending the modest total.
"I wasn't surprised with how New Zealand played, to be honest. If there is a low total, we knew there's probably only one or two sides in world cricket that will put seven fielders in the ring and that was always going to be New Zealand," he said.
"We knew they were going to attack more and not let the game go to the end, they won't take it deep, they will go all out and play the game that way because I have seen them play that way.
"Today also third man was up in the ring. In the one-day game you had five catching fielders. So they know how to put pressure because they play very consistent cricket and today was an example of that," he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'With or without Budget, we are doing our work': Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said that he does not need announcements to be made in the State Budget to carry out developmental works.
He said this highlighting the developmental works in his native district of Bengaluru South.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, is scheduled to present the 2026-27 Budget on March 6. This would be Siddaramaiah's record 17th budget.
"No need to have expectations from the Budget. With or without the Budget, we are doing our work," Shivakumar said in response to a question on what can be expected from the Budget.
Speaking to reporters, he said, "Others need the Budget. We don't. It's not that we need to take up work only if it is announced in the Budget."
Citing the example of flagship Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) in Bengaluru South district, Shivakumar said, "You get a survey done across the country. Bengaluru South district has 25 government schools, each one costing Rs 15 crore. We have ensured it. Has anyone else done it? Was this in the Budget? We created it, it is our concept. Now there is a state level policy for 2,000 such schools."
Further pointing out that during the JD(S)-Congress coalition government under H D Kumaraswamy's Chief Ministership in 2018-19, he had ensured a medical college was announced for the then Ramanagara (now Bengaluru South) district, he said, "But the next BJP government under B S Yediyurappa cancelled it and took the medical college to Chikballapura district. Now, we have given medical colleges to both Ramanagara and Kanakapura (taluks in the Bengaluru South district)."
He also highlighted private medical colleges are coming up in Channapatna taluk and one between Ramanagara and Kanakapura taluks.
