Staying motivated for this game was a challenge: Virat Kohli

India skipper said it was difficult to keep the motivation level high coming into an inconsequential contest against Afghanistan and lamented crucial mistakes in the previous matches

Mirpur: India skipper Virat Kohli said it was difficult to keep the motivation level high coming into an inconsequential contest against Afghanistan and lamented crucial mistakes in the matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that cost them heavily in the Asia Cup.

“It was a complete performance. It was hard to motivate the team when you have been travelling and are out of contention for the final. Last night, we were hoping that Bangladesh wins but that did not happen. Being more relaxed worked for us, we were quite tense in the earlier games,” Kohli said.

Reshuffling batting order
Asked about the reshuffle in the batting order today as Ajinkya Rahane was asked to open the innings in place of Rohit Sharma, Kohli said the “idea was to give guys time in the middle.”

“Someone like Ajinkya who has scored on and off, it is good to give them some confidence, even Dinesh Karthik was sent up the order.

“We have to be patient with them and the results will follow,” Kohli said confidently.

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