Cometh the hour, Cometh the person! On Sunday, it was Virat Kohli, but once more! With query marks over his type and arch-rivals Pakistan in entrance of him, Virat Kohli stepped up as soon as once more to slam his 51st ODI century to assist India (244/4 in 42.3 overs) defeat Pakistan (241) by six wickets in Dubai on Sunday. Kohli’s innings was a gritty one on a gradual Dubai pitch as he didn’t let India endure after the dismissal of Rohit Sharma. And true to his vogue, Kohli hit the successful runs and accomplished his 51st ton in nice vogue.
After the ton, Virat Kohli gestured in direction of the gang and appeared to say ‘Relax, I’m right here’. The gesture went viral.
! @imVkohli takes #TeamIndia over the road, bringing his first-ever hundred within the #ChampionsTrophy, his 51st in ODIs, and 82nd throughout codecs.
Take a bow, KING! #ChampionsTrophyOnJioStar #INDvPAK | LIVE NOW on Star… pic.twitter.com/pzUmDiAtyp
— Star Sports activities (@StarSportsIndia) February 23, 2025
Regardless of utilizing every little thing of their arsenal, Virat singlehandedly proved to be a hurdle that Pakistan could not overcome. He orchestrated a masterclass with the bat to cap off India’s success and ship Pakistan on the verge of elimination. Together with his prolific type, Virat accomplished 14,000 ODI runs whereas steering India to a memorable victory over India’s bitter rival.
In pursuit of a 242-run goal, Rohit Sharma preserved his fireworks for Naseem Shah and launched a blistering assault earlier than Shaheen Afridi cleaned up his center stump with an inswinging yorker on 20(15).
After a swift 31-run opening stand, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli held India’s inning with a contact of warning and aggression. Gill performed the position of aggressor whereas Virat anchored the partnership.
With Naseem and Shaheen proving to be ineffective within the powerplay, skipper Mohammad Rizwan launched tearaway Haris Rauf into the assault.
In his first over of the match, Haris nearly acquired the breakthrough after Gill pulled the ball straight to Khusdil Shah, who squandered the chance. After the drop probability, just a few sulking faces had been already seen on the Pakistan group.
Gill and Virat stitched up a 69-run partnership earlier than thriller spinner Abrar Ahmed pressured a breakthrough. A carrom ball from Abrar did the trick, leaving Gill baffled by the flip it extracted. Gill was overwhelmed by Abrar’s spin and returned with a helpful knock of 46(52).
Shreyas Iyer joined palms with Virat and orchestrated a partnership that broke the spine of Pakistan’s defence. Virat adopted the coverage of watching the ball until the tip whereas Shreyas pulled out a flurry of reverse sweeps to maintain Pakistan’s assault at bay.
With a elegant stroke, Virat dispatched the ball in direction of the boundary rope for a 4 to have a good time his 74th ODI fifty. Bowlers modified on the different finish however failed to interrupt previous the formidable partnership brewing between Virat and Shreyas.
Within the thirty first over, Shreyas took the aerial route by ambling down the pitch and clobbering the ball over deep mid-wicket for a towering most. He went on to finish his twenty first ODI fifty with a single within the thirty seventh over.
Within the thirty ninth over, a wonderful catch from Imam-ul-Haq off Khushdil Shah introduced an finish to Shreyas’ exploits on the crease with a rating of 56(67). Hardik Pandya got here in, muscled the ball away to 4 and pulled it to Rizwan off Shaheen to return to the dressing room with 8(6).
Virat continued to labour onerous for his record-extending 51st ODI century and finally acquired his palms on it with a scrumptious cowl drive, sealing a six-wicket win for India with greater than seven overs to spare.
With ANI inputs
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