Dubai: It was a Virat Kohli show when India locked horns against Pakistan on Sunday in the fifth match of the ICC Champions Trophy. The star Indian batter played a terrific knock to score 100 from 111 deliveries and guide India to a six-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan. Kohli looked in touch right from the start as he walked into the ground and started middling the ball through his strokes. The right-handed batter finished off the match with a cover drive which raced to the boundary. During his 51st ODI century laced with seven boundaries, Kohli created several records on his way.
Kohli became the first batter to score a century against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, ODI World Cup and Asia Cup. Also, it was his maiden hundred in the Champions Trophy. Also, he has six centuries in the ICC events. Kohli became the first player to win a Man of the Match award against Pakistan in all ICC tournaments. He has won five Man of the Match awards against arch-rivals which includes three in T20 World Cups, 1 in ODI World Cup and one in the Champions Trophy.
Apart from these records, Kohli (287) became the fastest batter to score 14000 ODI runs surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's record (350). He also became the third-highest run-getter (27,507) in international cricket across all formats surpassing Ricky Ponting (27,483)
51st ODI Century 📸📸
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 23, 2025
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Chasing a target of 242, India lost the wicket of Rohit Sharma early in the innings as he was dismissed on 20 runs by a brilliant inswinger from Shaheen Afridi. Virat Kohli then walked in to bat at No. 3 and built a partnership with Shubman Gill. The duo was looking solid and they forged an alliance of 69 runs for the second wicket. Gill departed on 46 but Kohli continued to assert his supremacy with sublime timing and piercing gaps. Shreyas Iyer walked in next and scored a fifty while Hardik Pandya was dismissed after scoring just eight runs. Amidst the fall of wickets from one end, Kohli kept anchoring the run chase by staying in the middle.
Big Game 🏟️
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 23, 2025
Big Player 😎
Big Knock 💥
King for a reason 👑
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It was an exciting turn of events in the lateral stages of the fixture as Kohli was nearing his 82nd international hundred but the margin between runs required for the win and his century was very close. When India required 12 runs, Kohli was also 12 runs away from completing his maiden Champions Trophy hundred making it a crunch situation. The uncertainty around his century kept spectators on the edge of their seats. The crowd chanted his name over and over as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper was heading towards a ton. But, finally in the 43rd over of the innings bowled by Khushdil Shah the former India skipper completed the chase and hundred both with a brilliant cover drive.
Earlier in the match, Pakistan chose to bat after winning the toss. Saud Shakeel (62) and Mohammad Rizwan (46) added 104 runs for the team after losing two early wickets. However, the team suffered a collapse losing eight wickets for 90 runs as India got bundled out on 241 from 151/2. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for India taking three wickets while Hardik Pandya chipped in with a couple of wickets. Kohli (158) played a crucial role in the fielding department as well and became the Indian cricketer with the most catches by a non-wicketkeeper in ODIs surpassing former skipper Mohammed Azharuddin (156).
By reaching the target in 42.3 overs India secured a spot in the semi-final as they won two matches in a row with a group stage game remaining against New Zealand on March 2.
