World Cup 2019: 3 ways Virat Kohli has matured as a captain

India have made the perfect start to their World Cup campaign. Facile wins against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan saw the Men in Blue at their dominant best in all departments of the game before they faced a real test from an unlikely source, Afghanistan. It is to their credit that the Indians did not lose their nerve in a thrilling encounter and avoided a catastrophic upset, thus maintaining their unbeaten record in the tournament.

Captain Virat Kohli's role in these victories has been understated but is immensely significant. His captaincy has matured at the right time. He still wears his heart on his sleeve but has tempered his passion with cricketing maturity.

Here are the three important ways that the Indian captain's leadership has evolved for the better.

1. Batting with an eye on the bigger picture

Kohli is the best batsman in the world, period. However, his talent and effortless style have been the guiding forces in his approach to what he does best. That has brought him immense dividends in a record-breaking spree that continues unabated. He has molded his game through hard-work to eliminate the little chinks that existed there - especially his proclivity to reach out for the wide ball outside off-stump.

In this World Cup though, a new facet of captain Kohli's batting has come to light. He has been willing to play second fiddle to further the team's cause. Rohit Sharma's sublime knock against Pakistan saw the captain take the backseat as the two built a match-winning partnership for the second wicket. Kohli hardly unleashed himself but still ended up with 77 runs off 65 balls.

He played a similar knock against Australia, consolidating India's position with patience as Shikhar Dhawan hit a fine century.

More of this new facet was visible in tough conditions against Afghanistan. Kohli really held the innings together while caressing the ball with the silken touch he possesses and still managed a half-century at more than a 100% strike rate, thereby equaling Mohammed Azharuddin's World Cup record of three consecutive fifties.

He was the most fluent batsman on the day and he is yet to go into top gear, batting only with the team's interests in mind.

2. Strategizing

Virat Kohli is cock-a-hoop as Afghanistan fall short of victory.

One frequent complaint about Kohli's captaincy in the past has been his lack of strategic fluidity in crunch situations. His predecessor MS Dhoni was also accused of that; India's semi-final exits in the 2015 World Cup to Australia and the 2016 World T20 to West Indies owed a lot to not finding a plan B at the right time.

With Kohli, the criticism was centered more around the idea that he had a lot of passion but a dearth of planning. The passion is still very much there, as evident from his appealing against the Afghans. But captain Kohli has brought a calmer head to the field in his quest to out-think opponents.

He himself said in the post-match press conference after the Australia win that the goal was to bowl straight and tight and wait for Australia to crumble under the load of a huge target. There was no attempt at forcing the issue and the Aussies, despite having wickets in hand, saw the required rate climb to gargantuan proportions as the Indians stuck to their plan. It paid off as the wickets began tumbling from the resultant desperation.

Against Pakistan, Kohli relied on the spin of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal to break partnerships. He also deployed the medium pace of VIjay Shankar and Hardik Pandya brilliantly.

Notably, Shankar wasn't used at all in the match against Afghanistan where the plan was to use the pace of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Pandya to bounce the Afghan batsmen out. The field placings - with a deep backward square leg and deep fine leg - were on point as well, as catches taken by these fielders turned the tide.

Kohli's field placements in the other games have also suited the bowling strategy of the moment to the tee - slips in with Yadav turning the ball away and Bumrah pitching it up, short mid-wicket as a catching position when Chahal is flighting the ball.

3. Bowler rotation

Virat Kohli has used Jasprit Bumrah brilliantly in this World Cup

This has been the key to India's success in the tournament so far. Kohli has used the potent bowling arsenal at his disposal to the fullest and in the most prudent ways.

His masterstroke against Afghanistan was to bring back Jasprit Bumrah, the No. 1 bowler in the world, in the middle overs. Bumrah used his sharp bouncers in the most effective way possible, breaking the third-wicket partnership and getting two wickets in the same over.

Kohli marshaled his best bowlers brilliantly that day, with Bumrah and Mohammed Shami bowling the final two overs amidst mounting tension and with Afghanistan needing 21 off them. They did not disappoint the captain as Bumrah his the bull's eye with his yorkers and Shami was straight as an arrow, claiming a hat-trick while helping his team to a tense win.

Even in the other matches, the second spells by the strike bowlers, especially Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, have been key. Both were brought back at the right time when Australia were mounting a charge, and both struck for the captain.

Kohli has also used Hardik Pandya cannily as a bowler, often persisting with him beyond what conventional wisdom might have dictated. He has handled the two main spinners very flexibly, with both short and long spells depending on the situation. And his use of Shankar against Pakistan as a change bowler who broke partnerships, paid huge dividends.

Kohli has married his immense urge to win and his passion to engineer victory with carefully thought-out plans in the World Cup. This maturity has transformed a very talented side into a winning machine.

Problems still exist, mostly with the middle-order who were starkly exposed by Afghanistan. MS Dhoni's lack of fluency and Kedar Jadhav's circumspection have received flak too. The team might benefit from trying out new team combinations in the next matches, especially with Risabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja waiting in the wings.