New Delhi: Virat Kohli maintained his outstanding performance against Pakistan, marking his 51st ODI century and 82nd international century during the Champions Trophy match between the two rivals on Sunday, February 23, at the Dubai International Stadium.
Kohli scored an impressive 100 runs off 111 balls, leading the Indian team to a five-wicket victory with 45 balls remaining. India has now secured two consecutive wins. This outcome has placed Pakistan in a precarious position regarding their chances of advancing in the tournament, as they have suffered two consecutive losses.
During the match, Kohli surpassed Rohit Sharma’s record for the highest number of runs scored against Pakistan in ICC ODI tournaments. Rohit managed to score 20 runs off 15 balls before being dismissed by a delivery from Shaheen Afridi. Additionally, Kohli became the first player to reach 400 runs against Pakistan in the history of ICC ODI events. The top three players in this prestigious list are all from India, with Sachin Tendulkar following Kohli and Rohit.
Kohli has become the second player, following Warner, to achieve multiple centuries against Pakistan in ICC ODI events. The renowned Indian batsman had previously scored a century against the Pakistani team during the 2015 World Cup held at the Adelaide Oval.
The former Indian captain further solidified his status as the top run-scorer against Pakistan in ICC tournaments, surpassing the 700-run milestone. Historically, no other player has achieved more than 500 runs against the Pakistani team in international competitions.
Kohli has made history by becoming the first player to score centuries against Pakistan in three different multi-team tournaments, including the World Cup, Champions Trophy, and Asia Cup. The former captain of India achieved this feat by scoring centuries in the Asia Cups of 2012 and 2023.
Kohli received the Player of the Match (POTM) honor for the fifth time in a match against Pakistan during an ICC tournament. No other player has achieved the POTM award more than three times when facing the same opponent in any ICC-organized event.
This marked Kohli’s first century in the Champions Trophy after recording five scores of over 50. The 36-year-old first participated in the tournament against Pakistan in 2009 and is the only current player to have competed in five different editions. In total, Kohli has accumulated 651 runs over 14 innings in the tournament, boasting an impressive average of 93.00. No other player has surpassed 300 runs with an average exceeding 80 in the history of the Champions Trophy.
Currently, the former captain of India ranks as the seventh highest run-scorer in the 26-year history of the tournament and requires only 141 runs to reach the top position.
Kohli has achieved a significant milestone by surpassing 14,000 runs in One Day Internationals (ODIs), making him the fastest player to reach this achievement. He is now the third player in history, following Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara, to attain this remarkable feat.
Kohli has now joined Tendulkar as the only other player to achieve 51 centuries in a single format of the game, with Tendulkar having reached this milestone in Test cricket.
