Heading into the high voltage ICC Champions Trophy match against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium, there were murmurings that Virat Kohli, India’s ageing superstar, could no longer play spin in white-ball cricket.

His problems outside the off-stump in red-ball cricket had already become the subject of prime time television debates in India — a country of 1.5 billion people where cricket sometimes gets celebrity anchors more animated than the rising inflation.

There was also the not-so-small matter of playing Pakistan, the bitter rivals, in Dubai after the months-long tussle over India’s policy of not travelling across the border for cricket matches.

Kohli’s immediate concern, though, was not bilateral relations between India and Pakistan.

All he wanted was to regain his rhythm, especially against the spinners, in the middle overs of the white-ball game.

So, the 36-year-old arrived for the Saturday’s training session a couple of hours before the scheduled time and spent hours playing against local spinners, including two leg-spinners.

Having fallen to spinners in his last four matches, the former Indian captain wanted to earn a shot at redemption.

And by the time the big game ended 24 hours later on Sunday, Kohli silenced his doubters, showing superb control against both pace bowlers and spinners as the chants of ‘Kohli’, ‘Kohli’ reverberated around the stadium.   

Then with two needed to win and four needed to reach a well-deserved ton, Kohli played a majestic cover drive for a four against left-arm spinner Khushdil Shah, to bring up his record-extending 51st ODI hundred and give India an emphatic-six wicket victory.

Kohli (100 not out off 111 balls) is back in form, and Pakistan, will fly back home with their semifinal hopes hanging by a thread.

After losing the first game to New Zealand, Mohammad Rizwan’s team faced a must-win situation against India in Dubai.

But their modest total of 241 all out was never going to challenge the formidable Indian batting line up on a pitch that didn’t offer swing for their pace attack featuring Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauff.

Afridi did lift the Pakistan spirits when he bowled Rohit Sharma (20) with a scorching yorker in the fifth over.

But Shubman Gill (46 off 52 balls) produced an exhibition of elegant shot-making before he lost his wicket against the run of play.

Shreyas Iyer (56 off 67 balls) played another cruicial knock in the middle order as Kohli quietly kept the scoreboard ticking from his end.

Then the Indian idol, who also completed 14,000 runs in ODI cricket, shifted his gears to reach the magic three-figure mark.

“It feels good to bat in that manner in an important game, where a spot for semis was there to be taken,” Kohli said after receiving his man-of-the-match award.

“My job was clear - to control the middle overs, not take risks against spinners and take on pacers. I was happy with the template, it's how I play in ODIs. I have a decent understanding of my game.”

Kohli said the criticism about his faliures against spinners was not playing on his mind when he walked into bat at 1/31 on Sunday.

“It's about keeping the outside noise away, take care of my energy levels and thoughts. It's easy for me to get pulled into expectations and frenzy around games like these,” he said.

“It's what I take pride in it. When you put your head down and go about your work, things work out. Clarity is important, when there is pace on the ball you have to get scoring.

India, who have great chance of reaching the semifinals after back-to-back wins over Bangladesh and Pakistan, now have a six-day break before they finish their group campaign against New Zealand in Dubai on March 2.  

“At 36, a week off is very good. It takes a lot out of me to put in that much effort,” Kohli said.

Pakistan skipper Rizwan, who had earlier scored 46 in a 104-run third wicket partnership with Saud Shakeel (62 off 76 balls), praised the performance of India’s bowlers, including Kuldeep Yadav (3/40) and Hardik Pandya (2/31).

“We won the toss but didn't get the benefit. We wanted to get 280 but their bowlers did really well in the middle overs,” he said.

“And then Kohli and Gill took the game far from us.”

Brief scores:

Pakistan 241 all out in 49.4 overs (S. Shakeel 62, M. Rizwan 46, K. Shah 38; K. Yadav 3-40, H. Pandya 2-31) v India 244-4 in 42.3 overs (V. Kohli 100 not out, S. Iyer 56, S. Gill 46; S. Shah Afridi 2-74)