Cometh the hour, Cometh the person! On Sunday, it was Virat Kohli, yet again! With query marks over his form and arch-rivals Pakistan in front of him, Virat Kohli stepped up 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 slow Dubai pitch as he didn’t let India suffer after the dismissal of Rohit Sharma. And true to his fashion, Kohli hit the winning runs and accomplished his 51st ton in great fashion.
After the ton, Virat Kohli gestured towards the group and looked as if it would say ‘Calm down, I’m here’. The gesture went viral.
Virat Kohli 81st century celebration , bro said I’m still here #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/W648c4LD20
— (@SH1V4MM) February 23, 2025
Despite using all the pieces of their arsenal, Virat singlehandedly proved to be a hurdle that Pakistan couldn’t overcome. He orchestrated a masterclass with the bat to cap off India’s success and send Pakistan on the verge of elimination. Along with his prolific form, Virat accomplished 14,000 ODI runs while 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 attack before Shaheen Afridi cleaned up his middle 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 touch of caution and aggression. Gill played the role of aggressor while Virat anchored the partnership.
With Naseem and Shaheen proving to be ineffective within the powerplay, skipper Mohammad Rizwan introduced tearaway Haris Rauf into the attack.
In his first over of the match, Haris almost got the breakthrough after Gill pulled the ball straight to Khusdil Shah, who squandered the chance. After the drop likelihood, a couple of sulking faces were already visible on the Pakistan team.
Gill and Virat stitched up a 69-run partnership before mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed forced a breakthrough. A carrom ball from Abrar did the trick, leaving Gill baffled by the turn it extracted. Gill was beaten by Abrar’s spin and returned with a handy knock of 46(52).
Shreyas Iyer joined hands with Virat and orchestrated a partnership that broke the backbone of Pakistan’s defence. Virat adopted the policy of watching the ball till the top while Shreyas pulled out a flurry of reverse sweeps to maintain Pakistan’s attack at bay.
With a sublime stroke, Virat dispatched the ball towards the boundary rope for a 4 to have a good time his 74th ODI fifty. Bowlers modified at the opposite end but didn’t break past 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 maximum. He went on to finish his twenty first ODI fifty with a single within the thirty seventh over.
Within the thirty ninth over, a superb catch from Imam-ul-Haq off Khushdil Shah brought an end 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 hard for his record-extending 51st ODI century and eventually got his hands on it with a delicious cover drive, sealing a six-wicket win for India with greater than seven overs to spare.
With ANI inputs
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