In the ICC Men's Champions Trophy clash at the Dubai International Stadium, Virat Kohli performed a masterclass knock against bitter rivals Pakistan, striking an undefeated 100 to enable India win by six wickets with 45 balls remaining. Following the game, Kohli was open about how difficult it is for him to keep up the intensity and put in the hard work every day. The 36-year-old Kohli stated that he is now anticipating India's one-week vacation. On Sunday, March 2, Rohit Sharma and company will take on New Zealand in their final group-stage match. The right-hander stated that he will take full advantage of the upcoming week-long rest.
Kohli on week off
With the aid of seven fours, Kohli reached his 51st ODI century off 111 balls as India easily chased 242. As he unleashed his beautiful cover drives, Kohli looked like the world-beater he always has been. With excellent running between the wickets, Kohli put an end to any chance of a Pakistani comeback.
"A week off, is it a good thing or otherwise? To be honest, at 36, it's very good. I don't know about the 23-24 year olds, but for me, it's really, really good. I just need to put my feet up for two days because it takes a lot out of me now to keep putting that kind of effort on the field, and I'm just thankful we have a bit of time off now," Kohli said after receiving the Player of the Match award.
Kohli before the match against Pakistan was having trouble scoring runs. His enemy turned out to be leg spinners, and in the previous six ODI matches, spin bowlers had taken Kohli's wicket. But once he made the decision to stand up to Pakistan, there was no turning back.
"It feels good to be able to back in that manner in an important game where we wanted to seal our qualification into the semis and to contribute in a situation like that where we kind of lost early, and then we had to string in a partnership, took the learnings from the last game that we played, the conditions, the understanding of how to go about things. My job was pretty clear to control the middle overs, to try and go after the seam bowlers and not take too many risks against the spinners but keep rotating strike, and once we strung in a nice partnership, then towards the end, I think Shreyas accelerated, and I got a few boundaries away as well, but yeah, it was more or less the way I play ODI cricket so I was happy with the template," he added.
India will now be facing New Zealand in their final group game at the same venue, on March 2.