Dubai: ODI cricket, Pakistan – they bring out the best in Virat Kohli.
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium was witness to another masterclass from the Indian maestro, with 40,000-odd spectators being treated to a champagne knock of unbeaten 100 that helped India cruise to a six-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the Champions Trophy.
While Team India are all but into the semifinals with two wins in as many games, it’s virtually curtains for Pakistan who have lost both their fixtures so far.
Having choked the Pakistan batters and restricted them to 241, India chased down the target with ease and precision, having 7-and-a-half overs to spare.
Skipper Rohit Sharma (20), who lost yet another toss, started with a bang – smashing three fours and a six. But then he had his stumps disturbed by a gem of a yorker by Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Shubman Gill (46 off 52 balls, 7×4) and Kohli (100* off 111, 7×4) adapted to the slowish pitch and played the Pakistan bowlers on merit. They didn’t attempt anything flashy, but didn’t miss out on scoring opportunities. Some of the cover drives and straight drives from the Gill and Iyer absolutely enthralled cricket watchers.
Gill was dismissed with the score on 100, foxed by an almost unplayable ball from mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed. He was the best Pakistani bowler, conceding just 28 runs in 10 overs.
After losing Gill, Kohli found an able partner in Shreyas Iyer (56 off 67, 5×4, 1×6). The two of them added 114 runs, but Kohli remained till the end, hitting the winning shot – a lofted shot to the cover boundary – which brought up his century.
Kohli’s feats
It was Kohli’s 51st ODI hundred, the most by any cricketer. In the course of the innings, the 36-year-old also became the fastest batter to reach 14,000 ODI runs.
His two catches in the Pakistan innings took Kohli to the top of the charts among Indians with maximum catches (158) in the 50-over format, surpassing Mohammed Azharuddin’s 156.
Brief Scores
Pakistan 241 in 49.4 overs (Saud Shakeel 62, Mohammad Rizwan 46; Kuldeep Yadav 3/40, Hardik Pandya 2/31).
India 244/4 in 42.3 overs (Virat Kohli 100 not out, Shreyas Iyer 56, Shubman Gill 46; Shaheen Shah Afridi 2/74).
Result: India won by 6 wickets.
Man of the Match: Virat Kohli
India’s next match: Vs New Zealand (March 2).
