Champions Trophy: We won't lower our guard, Virat Kohli warns Sri Lanka

Virat Kohli

India captain Virat Kohli (centre) eggs on his team during a training session in London yesterday. Pic/AP,PTI

An upbeat India would be striving to seal a semi-final berth when they come up against a disjointed Sri Lankan side in the ICC Champions Trophy at The Oval here today.

The Lankans are in disarray as they are without their regular skipper Upul Tharanga who has been suspended for two games for slow overrate in the previous match. There is a fitness issue with Chamara Kapugedera, while Angelo Mathews is not fully fit and will return to lead the team only as a batsman.

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While Sri Lanka are struggling to put up a competitive side with Kapugedera having twisted his ankle during practice, the Indians on the other hand, have had the luxury of leaving out known top performers like Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami and Ajinkya Rahane. After their superlative performance against Pakistan on Sunday, skipper Virat Kohli would surely like to retain the XI. India outwitted their arch-rivals by 124 runs at the Warwickshire venue.

Kohli, however, kept his cards close to the chest and did not reveal if at all he has plans to change the winning combination "We have not discussed the issue yet, after we have the nets, we will sit down and decide on the strategy and combination for the match," he said.

Despite being the favourites, Kohli said that the team would not lower its guard.

"We would like to maintain the same intensity we had against Pakistan. There is no reason to be complacent.

"Being a tournament of top eight teams, there is no reason to take any team lightly. Moreover, Sri Lanka have the ability to upset any team on their day," Kohli said.

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The Indians realise the importance of this match and booking a semi-final berth before they run into South Africa in their last league match on Sunday. If India, champions in 2013 under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, top the group, they will be at Edgbaston for the semi-finals and if they can't do so, they will most likely be up against England at Cardiff.

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India vs Sri Lanka: Star Sports 1, 1 HD, Hindi 1 and DD National, 15:00

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