IND Vs PAK: Team India stalwart Virat Kohli once againt stood tall against Pakistan, as his unbeaten ton against fierce-rivals in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match guided his side to a memorable won.
READ HERE: Champions Trophy 2025: Virat Kohli’s Ton Powers India To Sensational Win Vs Pakistan
India avenged their 2017 Final defeat against Pakistan by handing them a 6-wicket defeat, and this result might just prove to be the knockout blow to the defending champions of the tournament, as they have lost their opening two games.
“First of all, thank you. It feels good to be able to bat in that manner in an important game. We wanted to seal our spot into the Semis and to be able to contribute in a situation like that where we lost Rohit early. My job was pretty close. I wanted to control the middle overs, to try and take on the seam bowlers. I didn’t want to take any risks and at the end I had a great partnership with Shreyas Iyer. It was more or less the way I play ODI cricket, I was very happy with the template that was set for me,” said Virat Kohli, who was awarded the Player of the Match.
“I think for me, I have a decent understanding of my game over the years. For me, I just want to keep the outside noise away from myself. I try to stay in my space as much as possible. I really try to take care of my cricket. My job is to focus on my skill. I try to do the job for my team. I kept telling myself in the field, whenever I was feeling down, I wanted to put my 100% on every ball that I field and sometime I will definitely get the rewards for my hard work. When you put your head down and work hard enough, god will always reward you. I am very grateful and thankful to god,” said the Indian veteran.
“I think clarity is very important. One thing you need to understand that is when there is pace on the ball, you need to play your shots and keep the game moving. If you don’t score runs against the seamers, the spinners will make it difficult for you. Rohit gave a blistering start. Shubman kept going after Shaheen. If you don’t get 60-70 in the powerplay, then you are always chasing the game. I think the way those two batters are setting up the platform for us, it’s helping us a lot,” he added.
Virat Kohli Praises Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer After Win Vs Pakistan
Virat Kohli has laid praise upon the likes of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, stating that there is a reason why ‘Prince’ is currently number 1 ODI batsman in the world, and that, Shreyas Iyer ‘continues his good form’.
Here’s what Virat Kohli said:
“As I said about Shubman. There is a reason why he is the Number 1 ODI batter in the world. Shreyas has come of age at Number 4. 500 odd runs in the Cricket World Cup’23 and then he continues his good form here as well. Everyone has got a decent knock for us so far and we want to take that momentum into the upcoming matches.”
“(On the 1 week break before the next game) To be honest, at the age of 36, it’s very good. I don’t know about the 23s but for me it’s very good. I just need to put my feet up for two days because it takes a lot out of me to put my 100% on the field every time I step onto the field.”
