Reuters: Virat Kohli has established himself as one of the best batsmen of his generation but the India captain said he felt like an amateur playing next to free-scoring team mate Yuvraj Singh in Sunday’s Champions Trophy victory over Pakistan.

India’s top four batsmen helped themselves to fifties but none of them looked as fluent as Yuvraj, whose quickfire 53 off 32 balls enhanced his reputation as one of the sweetest timers of the ball.

“I felt like a club batsman while playing alongside ‘Yuvi’, the way he was hitting the ball,” Kohli said after India kicked off their title defence with a comprehensive victory over their arch-rivals.

A 136-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan laid the foundation for a big total but Kohli appeared to struggle for momentum in the rain-interrupted match.

India’s Yuvraj Singh 

But Yuvraj’s unbridled aggression lifted the pressure on Kohli, who accelerated towards the end to remain not out on 81 off 68 balls.

“The way he batted, I think it was the game-changing innings to be honest. That gave all of us the confidence to start striking the ball well,” Kohli said of Yuvraj, who missed both India’s warm-up games with viral fever.

“The way he batted was the way only he can strike the ball, hitting low full tosses for fours and sixes, and even digging out yorkers for fours – he was outstanding.” It was only after he had been dropped on 43 that Kohli stepped on the gas and clobbered three sixes.

“I could not get the big ones because it was tricky,” the 28-year-old said of the sluggish phase.

“We went off about four times and we came back in. So a player who likes to play a long innings and usually plays like that for the time, it becomes very difficult to find momentum every time you come back.”

India meet Sri Lanka in their next Group B match at the Oval on Thursday.

India savours ‘Mother of all Mismatches’ against Pakistan

AFP: Now unbeaten against Pakistan for more than three years, India on Monday celebrated a thumping win over their arch-rivals to launch their defence of the Champions Trophy. 

Skipper Virat Kohli hit a blistering 81 as India thrashed Pakistan by 124 runs in a rain-affected game on Sunday at Edgbaston.

The Indian Express called the triumph the “Mother of all Mismatches” while The Times of India said it was an “opening statement” at the tournament in England and Wales.

A headline in The Hindu read “India knocks the stuffing out of Pakistan” with the newspaper calling the recent cricketing rivalry between the two neighbours as “anything but competitive”.

“A record crowd provided an electric soundtrack on a frustrating wet day as India’s batsmen pounded Pakistan into the ground,” The Hindu wrote.

India have never lost to Pakistan in 11 World Cup and World Twenty20 meetings over the years. They have not lost to Pakistan since the Asia Cup in March 2014 and are now locked at 2-2 in their head-to-head count at the 50-over Champions Trophy.

Pakistan overhaul urged after ‘shameful defeat’

AFP; Pakistan faced calls for a total overhaul on Monday after slumping to a “shameful defeat” against arch-rivals India at the Champions Trophy in England.

The highly anticipated match at Edgbaston proved anti-climactic as Pakistan were thrashed by 124 runs, extending their winless streak against India to three years.

While Indian media rejoiced in the “Mother of all Mismatches”, Pakistan newspapers held nothing back in their criticism.

“Pakistan suffers shameful defeat at the hands of India in Champions Trophy, Green Shirts fail in every department,” said Jang, Pakistan’s highest-circulation newspaper.

Former captain Shahid Afridi was among several ex-players to call for a major shake-up in the wake of the humiliating defeat.

“The gap between Indian and Pakistani teams is bigger than ever! India has evolved & we are way behind now,” he said on his Twitter account.

“We need to overhaul approach, mindset & work on improving our stagnating skills and play with clear minds.”

Hundreds of millions of fans in the cricket-mad neighbouring countries tuned in to watch Sunday’s game.

Cricket writer Osman Samiuddin slammed Pakistan’s demoralising loss, suggesting they were not up to the challenge.

“India arguably didn’t get out of 3rd gear and still never looked like doing anything other than winning v v comfortably,” he wrote on Twitter.

Others used humour to cushion the blow. 

“Pakistan got its tactics wrong today imo, the way to stop India from getting to 300 was to bat first and be bowled out for 150,” wrote social media user Haseeb Asif.