Cricket News Today: Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul gain in latest ICC rankings, Rohit Sharma reflects on his match-winning innings and more- 20th January 2020

#5 Virat Kohli confident ahead of NZ tour

The Indian skipper wants his team to carry the momentum into the New Zealand tour

Indian captain Virat Kohli has sent an early warning to New Zealand as they prepare for a full tour of the country starting January 24. He reminded everyone of their performances in New Zealand last year and stated that putting the entire home team under pressure will help them enjoy their cricket on foreign land.

He said that he wanted nothing less than A-game from the entire team and also not rest on their laurels after winning a couple of games. According to him, consistency and getting the task done will top their agenda for a tough tour of New Zealand.

“We are taking a lot of confidence from our performance (in NZ) last year. We were very positive in how we played, very sure of what we wanted to do. The thing about playing away is if you’re able to put the home team under pressure, you can enjoy your cricket."

“You have to win at home, there’s that sort of feeling (for hosts). So if you bring out your A game, you can really put them under pressure. That’s what we did last year, squeezed them in the middle overs, picked up wickets, spinners were outstanding. Looking forward to take that same intensity into the series."

“Again, we want to bat well when we bat first and in case we’re defending a low total, we should be able to do that as well. We can’t afford to ease into the series after two games, because then it keeps getting tougher and tougher, so we’ll look to make a mark in the first game that we play."

Full article: Virat Kohli sends early warning to New Zealand