Follow UsVirat Kohli was in superb form in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 game against Pakistan, notching up his 51st One-Day International (ODI) century. By doing so, he also guided India to a comprehensive six-wicket victory. With that, India have taken a giant stride in qualifying for the semi-final.
However, Kohli has been under the pump ever since his poor Test series in Australia. But when it comes to ODI cricket, there are very few players in the world who can match up with his high standards.
"My job was to control the middle overs against the spinners without taking too many risks. Towards the end, Shreyas accelerated, and I got a few boundaries as well. It allowed me to play my usual ODI game," Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
"I have a decent understanding of my game, it is about keeping the outside noise away, staying in my space and taking care of my energy levels and thoughts. Very easy to get pulled into the expectations. My job is to stay in the present and do a job for the team."
Kohli and Shubman Gill added 69 for the second wicket, with the latter scoring 46 off 52 deliveries. He was looking in sublime form before a superb delivery from Abrar Ahmed cleaned him up.
Speaking on Gill and his stand with Shreyas Iyer, Kohli said, "Shubman did well against Shaheen, took him up. There’s a reason he’s the number one batter of the world.
"It was necessary to get about 60-70 runs in the powerplay, or we’d always be chasing the game. And there, Shreyas is really coming into his own at number 4. Did well in India, and now out here as well."
India skipper Rohit Sharma was pleased with his team's performance and showered special praise on Kohli. "He loves representing the country. He wants to be out there. We've seen it with him over the years. People in the dressing room are not surprised," Rohit said.
Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan also conceded India were the better team on the day. "We won the toss, but we didn't get the benefit of toss. Their bowlers bowled very well. Me and Saud Shakeel, we wanted to take it deep. Poor shot selection," Rizwan said.
"They put us under pressure. Whenever you lose, you didn't perform in all departments. We wanted to squeeze, but we couldn't. Kohli and Gill batted very well and took the game away. We need to improve our fielding. We made a lot of mistakes in this match."
India have a week's break before they take on New Zealand in Dubai on March 2 (Sunday). Pakistan, on the other hand, do not have fate in their own hands, as they will take on Bangladesh on February 27 (Thursday).