Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru coach Mike Hesson lauded Virat Kohli after he scored a match-winning knock against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday.

Kohli played an instrumental role in taking India to a six-wicket win and have also qualified for the semifinals of the eight-team tournament. The right-hander scored an unbeaten knock of 100 off 111 balls with the help of seven fours in the run-chase of 242 and thus scored the majority of runs in singles and doubles.

Kohli was able to hit the ground running from the get-go and played some sumptuous cover drives to kick off his innings. The talisman is known as the chase master as he has an incredible record in second innings in ODIs.

Hesson said on Cricbuzz, “He just remained committed to his game plan. The cover drives, obviously, are a big part of his game, and he trusts that shot. Occasionally, you can get out to that shot, and then you start to doubt it. He committed to the cover drive early on, and then from there his game evolved.

“I mean, he’s always been one of the best players of pace around. So once they can’t bowl that hard length as he hits it through the offside, they have to start searching for other options. It was a bit of a masterclass in terms of controlling the chase. And, you know, we saw another example of Virat being a very good problem solver,” he added.

Hesson highlighted that Kohli once again proved his mettle after a lot of cricket experts questioned his current form.

“Virat continues to do it, doesn’t he? Whenever people start to question whether it might be, you know, nearing the end, he just reminds us why he averages 58 in ODI cricket. I guess last night was just another example of a masterful chase in a pressure cooker environment. You wouldn’t expect anything less from a player like Virat.”

India will next take on New Zealand at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on 2nd March.