Virat Kohli once again showcased his brilliance as he toyed with the Pakistan bowling attack to score his 51st ODI century and lead India to victory in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match on Sunday (February 23). His glittering unbeaten 100 helped India claim an authoritative six-wicket over their arch-rivals.
The win should be enough for India to make it to the semifinals of the Champions Trophy and the loss for Pakistan means they could be looking at early elimination from the tournament.
India successfully chased down a challenging target of 242, thanks to Virat Kohli’s 51st ODI century, a composed 56 off 67 balls from Shreyas Iyer, and Shubman Gill’s fluent 46 off 52. Kohli, battling both his recent dip in form and a formidable Pakistani attack, crafted a masterful 111-ball knock studded with seven boundaries, steering India to victory with more than seven overs to spare.
To be honest, it feels good to be able to bat in that manner in an important game to seal qualification. Feels good to contribute in a game where we lost Rohit early, had to put in the understanding of what we learnt in the last game. 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. 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. My keynotes to myself are to put my 100% every ball in the field, and then God eventually rewards you," said Virat Kohli after winning the game for India.
"Having clarity is important, it was important to understand that you need to get runs when there is pace on the ball, otherwise the spinners can dictate things. 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. (On having a week off) To be honest, at 36, it feels really good. Will put my feet up for a few days as it takes a lot out of me to put that kind of effort into every game," the Player of the Match added.
For Pakistan, the loss effectively ended their campaign as tournament hosts. Once again, they found themselves undone by their long-time nemesis—Kohli. The 36-year-old had to overcome his struggles against spin and a string of low scores, but he rose to the occasion in spectacular fashion. In the process, he also became the fastest batter to reach 14,000 ODI runs.
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