Virat Kohli says his role was to control the game against the spinners after win against Pakistan

India’s veteran batter Virat Kohli was delighted after the Men in Blue registered a comprehensive six-wicket win against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy clash at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday.

Kohli played a couple of trademark cover drives to kick off his innings and looked in sublime control, which he hasn’t exhibited in the recent past. The right-hander scored a match-winning knock of 100 runs off 111 balls in the run-chase of 242.

During his knock, Kohli became the fastest to reach 14000 runs, getting there in 287 innings and breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record. Kohli also surpassed Ricky Ponting’s tally of runs across all formats and he is now the third-highest run-getter at the top level.

This was the 51st ODI century for Virat Kohli and his 82nd overall as he continued his love affair of performing well against arch-rivals Pakistan. The veteran said the plan was to control the game against the spinners after Shubman Gill scored an impressive 46.

Kohli said after bagging the Player of the Match award, “To be honest, it feels good to be able to bat in that manner in an important game to seal qualification. Feels good to contribute in a game where we lost Rohit early, had to put in the understanding of what we learnt in the last game. My job was to control the middle overs against the spinners without taking too many risks, towards the end Shreyas accelerated and I got a few boundaries as well.”

Kohli added he is delighted to reap rewards after putting in the hard yards on the field and in the practice sessions.

He added, “It allowed me to play my usual ODI game. I have a decent understanding of my game, it is about keeping the outside noise away, staying in my space and taking care of my energy levels and thoughts. Very easy to get pulled into the expectations. My job is to stay in the present and do a job for the team. My keynotes to myself are to put my 100% every ball in the field, and then God eventually rewards you. Having clarity is important, it was important to understand that you need to get runs when there is pace on the ball, otherwise the spinners can dictate things.”

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