India turn orange for Cup clash with England

India skipper Virat Kohli unveiled the orange-and-dark-blue jersey that the team will wear in their World Cup match against England in Birmingham on Sunday (7.30pm AEST, Kayo, Fox Cricket and 9GEM).

Blue has been Indian cricket's dominant colour since the advent of coloured clothing but Kohli, celebrated for his fashion sense by his throng of fans, was impressed by the new kit for Sunday's match at Edgbaston.

"I quite like it. I think it's right up there. For me it will be an eight (out of 10). Honestly, I am not saying that for the sake of it," Kohli said at his pre-match press conference.

"The contrast is good, the fit is great. For one game it's fine. But I don't think permanently we will be heading in that direction because blue is our colour and we are very proud to wear that."

Eight of the 10 nations at the World Cup have an alternate kit in case of a colour clash and England also wear light blue, hence the switch.

But the colour of the kit has stirred controversy in India. Members of the opposition accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-wing Hindu nationalist party of pushing its trademark saffron colour on the team. And many Twitter users made fun of the kit, comparing it to the uniform worn by the employees of state-run company Indian Oil. Some mocked the colour choice by flooding the social media site with spoof pictures of Indian players holding fuel dispensers at filling stations.

Sri Lanka changed to yellow shirts against England and decided to keep them for the rest of the tournament as a lucky charm after their shock win against the hosts.

India, unbeaten in their six games, need just one win from their remaining three games to book a semi-final berth while Eoin Morgan's England must win both of their final games to guarantee progress.

Kohli says he relishes the intense pressure at the World Cup as he targets a win against England. The world's top-ranked Test and one-day international batsman has hit four consecutive half-centuries and on Thursday became the fastest batsmen to 20,000 international runs across all formats.

"I would say that's a lie if I say I'm not under pressure," said Kohli on the eve of the match at Edgbaston.

 "I'm probably good at hiding it. If I don't (feel pressure) then probably I don't have enough motivation to play anymore.

"That is the excitement that all of us carry as international cricketers – to walk into a pressure situation and come out on top."

England are wobbling badly after two straight defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia and they need to beat both India and New Zealand to guarantee a place in the semi-finals.

Kohli said he did not know why Morgan's side, who started the tournament as favourites, had stumbled so badly.

"Look, everyone is a bit surprised. We thought England is probably going to dominate in their own conditions," said Kohli.

"But as I said at the beginning of the tournament in the press conference, that pressure is going to be a massive factor to handle and low scores are going to be defended."

India have impressed at the tournament but their middle-order batting has been a concern, with MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav questioned over slow scoring in the middle overs.

Dhoni was criticised for his 52-ball 28 against Afghanistan, a game that India won by 11 runs, but Kohli defended the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman and the other players.

"That discussion is always going to go on because we've had such a strong top order that these guys have hardly had a chance to bat," said Kohli.

"We're not looking too much into it. He (Dhoni) knows exactly what he needs to do."