Virat Kohli’s Century Seals Champions Trophy Semi-Final Spot: India has almost sealed their place in the semi-finals after beating Pakistan by six wickets in a one-sided Champions Trophy match on Sunday. Saud Shakeel scored 62 off 76 balls while skipper Mohammad Rizwan hit 46 off 77 balls.
India beat Pakistan and came closer to the semi-finals
Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav (3/40) took three wickets and all-rounder Hardik Pandya (2/31) dismissed Babar Azam (23) and Shakeel. India achieved the target in 42.3 overs thanks to Virat Kohli (100 not out off 111 balls), Shubman Gill (46) and Shreyas Iyer (56).
Skipper Rohit Sharma (20 off 15 balls) also played some excellent shots before getting dismissed from Shaheen Afridi’s beautiful delivery. India is almost through to the semi-finals with two wins in two matches. Pakistan, on the other hand, are on the verge of elimination after losing their first two group games.
Virat Kohli played an unbeaten century innings
This batsman’s record against Pakistan has always been good. Whether it is scoring 77 runs in the 2019 World Cup or scoring an unbeaten 122 in adverse conditions in the 2023 Asia Cup to give a spectacular victory against Pakistan, Virat never wavered. How can anyone forget his unbeaten 82-run innings against the neighboring country’s team in the 2022 T20 World Cup?
Similarly, by scoring an unbeaten 100 in the grand match of the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday, he not only gave India a six-wicket victory but also almost confirmed the team’s place in the semi-finals. India won two consecutive matches in the Champions Trophy 2025, this defeat has almost ended Pakistan’s journey to reach the knockouts. The Indian team, which defeated Bangladesh by six wickets in the first match, has won two out of three matches in its group.
It has to play its third match against New Zealand in Dubai on March 2. Before India, the New Zealand team defeated Pakistan at its home. In such a situation, India and New Zealand are most expected to reach the semi-finals from this group.
Virat became the fastest batsman to score 14000 ODI runs
Virat Kohli on Sunday became the fastest batsman to complete 14000 runs in ODI cricket. Now he is the third batsman to score more than 14000 runs in ODIs. Ahead of him are India’s great batsman Sachin Tendulkar (18246) and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (14234).
Kohli completed 14000 runs in 287 innings. Virat needed 15 runs to reach this figure. He made the record by hitting a four in the cover to Haris Rauf in the 13th over. He completed 13000 ODI runs during the Asia Cup against Pakistan in Colombo in September 2023.
He also holds the record for scoring the most 50 centuries in ODI cricket. He broke Tendulkar’s record in the 2023 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai.
Kohli also broke Mohammad Azharuddin’s record for most catches by an Indian fielder in ODIs in this match against Pakistan. Kohli took his 157th catch in his 299th match.
Azhar took 156 catches in 334 ODIs between 1985 and 2000. Kohli took a diving catch of Pakistan’s Naseem Shah off Kuldeep Yadav while running from long on. He then also took a catch of Khushdil Shah at deep midwicket off Harshit Rana.
Also Read: IND vs PAK Champions Trophy 2025: Who Will Win the Epic Clash?
