CHENNAI: In the cricketing world, there isn’t a bigger fixture than India-Pakistan. The stage, venue and format becomes secondary with theatre of sport taking centre-stage. However, as it has been the case in recent years, it ended up being yet another one-sided contest with Virat Kohli dominating Pakistan to hand India a six-wicket victory at the ring of fire in Dubai on Sunday. Like it was written in the stars, the India No 3 and former captain rose to the occasion, smashed a sensational century, his 51st in the format, and sealed a crucial win in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
From the time he walked onto the field with a 242-run target in front, Kohli was a man on a mission. His first boundary took him to an exclusive club of 14,000 ODI runs — Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara are the other two. He is the quickest to reach there surpassing previous record held by Tendulkar. He held fort at one end, stuck to his innings-building template, bringing up his 82nd international hundred and India’s victory with his last boundary in the 43rd over.
“Lost Rohit early, had to string a partnership, took learnings from the conditions, the understanding of how to go about things,” Kohli told broadcasters after the victory.
If Kohli was the protagonist of the chase, it was the bowlers who set up the contest for the Men in Blue. From Hardik Pandya to Harshit Rana to Kuldeep Yadav, every one put the brakes on Pakistan through the middle-overs, ensuring that they did not post an above-par total on a typically slowish Dubai surface.
Coming into the match, India were overwhelming favourites on paper, with the conditions in front of them. Pakistan had their backs against the wall with the perfect opportunity to give something to cheer for the fans back home. However, what was supposed to be one of the greatest rivalries of this sport, ended up being yet another anti-climax as a far superior Indian team came together to hand the tournament hosts and defending champions a devastating defeat.
