Cometh the hour, Cometh the man! On Sunday, it was Virat Kohli, yet again! With question marks over his form and arch-rivals Pakistan in front of him, Virat Kohli stepped up once again to slam his 51st ODI century to help 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 did not let India suffer after the dismissal of Rohit Sharma. And true to his fashion, Kohli hit the winning runs and completed his 51st ton in great fashion.
After the ton, Virat Kohli gestured towards the crowd and seemed to say ‘Calm down, I am 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 everything in 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. With his prolific form, Virat completed 14,000 ODI runs while steering India to a memorable victory over India’s bitter rival.
In pursuit of a 242-run target, 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 in 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 opportunity. After the drop chance, a few 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 end while Shreyas pulled out a flurry of reverse sweeps to keep Pakistan’s attack at bay.
With a sublime stroke, Virat dispatched the ball towards the boundary rope for a four to celebrate his 74th ODI fifty. Bowlers changed at the other end but failed to break past the formidable partnership brewing between Virat and Shreyas.
In the 31st 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 complete his 21st ODI fifty with a single in the 37th over.
In the 39th over, an excellent catch from Imam-ul-Haq off Khushdil Shah brought an end to Shreyas’ exploits on the crease with a score of 56(67). Hardik Pandya came in, muscled the ball away to four 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 more than seven overs to spare.
With ANI inputs
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