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Virat Kohli opened up about how he banked on his experience to return to form with a sensational century against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025. He also credited India’s opening pair and Shreyas Iyer for their performances as well.
Virat Kohli’s match-winning knock powered India’s win by six-wickets against Pakistan. (Image: AP)
Virat Kohli returned to form when it mattered the most, helping India secure a six-wicket win against arch-rivals Pakistan with a century to help secure a spot in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
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Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Kohli highlighted how he was pleased in scoring the big runs for the side when it counts. He reflected on the situation where the captain, Rohit Sharma fell early on and remained clear on what he had to do from the previous game played in the same venue.
“It feels good to be able to bat in that manner in an important game where we wanted to seal qualification into the semis and to contribute in a situation like that where we lost Rohit early and we had to string in a partnership,” Kohli commented after the match against Pakistan.
“Took the learnings from the last game that we played, the conditions, the understanding of how to go about things and my job was pretty clear to control the middle-overs. To try and go after the seam bowlers and not take too much risk against the spinners but keep rotating strike. And once we struck a nice partnership with Shreyas to the end, he accelerated and I got a few boundaries away at the end, it is more or less the way I play ODI cricket so I was happy with the template,” he added.
Kohli banked on his experience and focused on keeping all the noise away. The veteran came into the tournament under pressure with the lack of runs in ODIs and Tests recently. He broke through the shackles and maintained himself despite the pressure by focusing on giving his everything when battling or on the field.
“For me, I have a decent understanding of the game over the years. For me, it’s about keeping the outside noise and the distractions away. I try to stay in my space as much as possible,and really take care of my energy levels, and what I am thinking about. Because it is easy for me to get pulled into the expectations and frenzy of these games,” Kohli shared.
“My job is to focus on my skills and to be able to do the job for my team as much as I can and one of the keynotes there is that I kept telling myself on the field whenever I was feeling a little bit down, I’m gonna put 100 per cent on every ball and sometimes I will get rewards for the hard work I put on the ground. That’s why I take a lot of pride in working hard and running around the field. I think god rewards you accordingly,” he added.
Kohli credited his team’s approach right from the start. He praised Rohit and Shubman Gill’s early blitz to set a platform for their chase. He also mentioned Shreyas Iyer who has cemented the number four spot as his own with performances in the last few years.
“If you don’t score against the seamers then spinners become even more potent. And if you score enough off the seamers as the openers gave us a brilliant start, Shubman went after Shaheen, that kind of negated their new-ball bowling a little bit. If you don’t get 60-70 in the first 10, then you are always chasing the game. The way those two are setting the platform at the top has been helping us in the middle order. Shubman has been in phenomenal touch, there’s a reason why he is the number one ODI batter in the world,” Kohli praised India’s opening pair for their early barrage of runs which aided in their chase to be completed without any hiccups.
“Shreyas has really come of age at number four, 500-odd runs in the World Cup, continuing his form in India and now here as well. Everyone’s got a decent knock, out in these conditions and the understanding so that’s good,” he added.
- Location :
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)