Virat Kohli cut through the tension in yet another crucial chase to confirm India's spot in the final of the Champions Trophy. His 84 off 98 in Dubai helped them chase down 265 against ODI World Cup holders, Australia, on a tricky pitch.
"This game is all about pressure, especially big games like semis and finals, and if you go deep into the innings, and you have enough wickets in hand, the opposition usually gives in, and the game becomes easier," Kohli said after picking up the Player-of-the-Match award. "It's very important to control your impulses while the game is going on.
"For me, what's important is to know the number of overs and the number of runs left, even if the gap's 25-30 and it comes to six an over, I'm not bothered if we have seven or six wickets in hand, because then you know, two set batters and we can turn the game around. The opposition can only come into the game with wickets. That was the plan out there."
Kohli went out to bat in the fifth over with India on 30 for 1. His 91-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer, followed by 44 and 47 with Axar Patel and KL Rahul respectively, took India close, before Rahul and Hardik Pandya applied the finishing touches.
Fifty-six of Kohli's 84 runs came in singles, and his 98-ball knock included just five fours and no sixes. Kohli, who had steered the chase against Pakistan at the same venue earlier in the tournament, said that the conditions dictated his approach.
"It was pretty similar to the other day against Pakistan. That was about seven fours when I got to the hundred. For me, it's about understanding the conditions, preparing my game accordingly, just rotating strike because partnerships - on this pitch - are the most important thing," he said. "My only effort that day and today was to string in enough partnerships. It's all dependent on the conditions; the pitch tells me how the cricket needs to be played and I just switch on and play accordingly."
And so Kohli didn't go chasing the boundaries, up until the 43rd over, when he backed himself to deposit Adam Zampa's wrong'un beyond long-on but found the fielder.
"My timing, the composure at the crease, I wasn't feeling desperate," Kohli said. "I was happy knocking ones around. When, as a batsman, you start taking pride in hitting those singles into the gaps, that's when you know you're playing good cricket, and you know you're in for a big partnership, settle the nerves down a little bit, and head towards chasing the total down. That, for me, in the game against Pakistan and today, was the most pleasing thing for me."
Now India will wait on the winner of the New Zealand-South Africa semi-final, which will take place in Lahore on Wednesday. On Sunday, they will meet the winner of that bout in the final in Dubai.