Last Updated on 2 months by Charbel Coorey
Virat Kohli notched up his 51st ODI century as India beat Pakistan once again in an ICC tournament. With the comfortable six-wicket win, India sealed their place in the 2025 Champions Trophy (CT) semi-finals.
Pakistan were left to rue another disappointing batting effort. After facing 162 dot balls in their tournament opener against New Zealand, Pakistan batted another 152 dot balls in Dubai as they had to scrap to even get to a somewhat respectable total. On a surface where the ball was holding up at times, 241 was something to bowl at, but they had to be perfect with the ball against a long Indian batting lineup.
Unfortunately for Pakistan, the make up of their attack is far from perfect. They lack a potent fifth bowling option, and when Shaheen Shah Afridi (9.25) and Haris Rauf (7.42) are so expensive, a defeat is imminent. It turned out to be the case as India sealed the chase so comfortably.
Virat Kohli was superb. He got going with some magnificent drives on the up against Rauf. Then, 72 of his 100 runs came in singles and twos in one of the starkest contrasts between he and Pakistan. Such an approach is a key reason why he is one of the all-time greats in ODIs.
In the process, Kohli became the third player in history after Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara to notch 14,000 ODI runs. While Tendulkar’s 18,426 runs seems too far away to catch, Kohli is just 150 runs away from becoming the second-highest run-scorer in ODI history.
That too at an average in excess of 58. Brilliant stuff.
Virat Kohli notches up 14,000 ODI runs and 51st century in another chasing masterclass
Virat Kohli combined with Shubman Gill (46) for 69 runs and Shreyas Iyer (56) for 114. Pakistan fought hard at the start of the Virat-Shreyas partnership, but India were mostly in control as Mohammad Rizwan’s team lacked the spin depth to support Abrar Ahmed.
“My job was pretty clear: to control the middle overs, to try and go after the seam bowlers, and not take too many risks against the spinners, but keep rotating strike,” Kohli said after the match, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “And once we strung in a nice partnership, then towards the end, Shreyas [Iyer] accelerated and I got a few boundaries away as well. It was more or less the way I play ODI cricket, so I was happy with the template.”
Here are some reactions to Virat Kohli’s 51st ODI hundred and India’s victory.
