DUBAI: Virat Kohli proved he is not a spent force yet as India’s batting stalwart produced a match-winning hundred in a Champions Trophy humdinger against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday.
A modern day batting great, Kohli’s unbeaten 100 helped India pull off a potentially tricky chase of 242 to register their second successive win of the tournament and inch closer to a semi-final berth.
During the course of his 51st ODI hundred, Kohli also became only the third player - after compatriot Sachin Tendulkar and Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara - to complete 14,000 runs in this format taking fewer innings than both.
“It feels good to be able to back in that manner in an important game where we wanted to (effectively) seal our qualification into the semis,” Kohli said after his 51st ODI hundred fetched him player-of-the-match award.
“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.”
After India lost captain Rohit Sharma in the fifth over, Kohli steadied the innings first with Shubman Gill (46) and then with Shreyas Iyer (56).
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“Once we strung in a nice partnership, towards the end, Shreyas 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.” Kohli quit T20 Internationals immediately after India won the 20-overs World Cup last year but has struggled for runs in test cricket.
In a high-pressure game against arch-rivals Pakistan, Kohli was back in his elements anchoring a successful chase with a well-crafted hundred.
“I have a decent understanding of my game over the years,” the top order batter said. India face New Zealand in their next match on March 2 and Kohli welcomed the week-long break.
“To be honest, at 36, it’s very good… I just need to put my feet up for two days,” he said with a smile.
“It takes a lot out of me now to be putting that kind of effort on the field, and I’m just thankful we have a bit of time off.”
Rohit said they were not surprised to see Kohli back among runs.
“That is what he is known for,” Rohit said of his teammate.
“People sitting inside the dressing room are not surprised with what he has done.”
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