Former England captain Nasser Hussain lavished praise on India batting great Virat Kohli after his match-winning knock in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal clash against Australia at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai. In the must-win clash against Australia, Kohli smashed 84 runs that helped India to defeat Australia by four wickets. With his knock against Australia, Kohli crossed the 8,000-run mark in ODI run chases and took 159 innings to achieve the feat, which has only been matched by Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar.
After Kohli's knock, Nasser Hussain termed India star batter as the best run-chaser in the history of the game.
“It was a pretty clinical run chase. They have got the best chaser in the history of the game. Virat Kohli. And around Kohli, they have so much talent all the way through. Spin bowling all rounders. Guys that go hard at the ball in the power play. A wicket-keeping batter in KL Rahul. That’s magnificent and an all-rounder in Hardik Pandya makes things easy,” Hussain told Sky Sports Cricket post the game.
During his knock against Australia, Kohli became the first player to score 1000 runs in knockout matches of ICC events across all three formats. India ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma is nearing the batting great with 808 runs. Kohli has also played more knockout matches (21) than anyone else in ICC tournament history. Mahela Jayawardene, Rohit Sharma, and Kumar Sangakkara have played 20 each.
Rohit Sharma-led India will now feature in the Champions Trophy final which is scheduled to start from March 9 at the same venue. India's opponent for the final will be decided after the South Africa vs New Zealand semifinal clash.
