India superstar Virat Kohli made an honest admission, saying playing cover drives has become his weakness of late and puts him in a 'catch-22' situation. He also said that if he nails the shot with precision, it gives him an idea that he has gotten hold of his innings. The right-hander made this comment after guiding India to a comprehensive six-wicket win against Pakistan in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 100 as he helped India chase down 242 with 45 balls to spare. His innings was studded with several picture-perfect cover drives.
The 36-year-old's knock was studded with seven boundaries. His running between the wickets was precise, which was the biggest highlight of his innings. This was Kohli's 51st ODI century and 82nd international ton.
"It's a catch-22. I mean, it's (cover drive) kind of been my weakness as well over the years, but I've scored a lot of runs on that shot," Kohli said in a video posted by BCCI.
"I think today was just about backing my shots, and I think the first couple of boundaries I got were cover drives on the rise, so I really had to just let it go a little bit and take a bit of risk and follow through with my shots. Because when I hit that kind of shots, then I feel in control when I bat out there. So, it was a good innings for me personall,y and it was a great team win," he added.
'Great day for us as a team'
Kohli, who was struggling for runs before the Pakistan game, stepped up against the arch-rival. The former India captain has performed against Pakistan time and time again, and hence, it was no surprise that Kohli came back into form against the neighbours.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli, who was struggling for runs before the Pakistan game, stepped up against the arch-rival. The former India captain has performed against Pakistan time and time again, and hence, it was no surprise that Kohli came back into form against the neighbours.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli was also adjudged Player of the Match for his unbeaten knock of 100 off 111 balls.
Speaking about the India versus Pakistan encounter, Kohli said, "The occasion is a bit more lively when you play against Pakistan, especially in this region, because you have an equal number of fans from both countries, yeah, it was a great day for us as a team and for me personally as well."
During the course of his knock, Kohli also became the fastest ODI batter to surpass the 14000 run mark. He is now the third batter after Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara to surpass this milestone.
"One thing that I've always thought of batting at three is to minimise risk and make sure that I put my team in a winning position, and if you have a chance to finish off the game in a chase, obviously, that's much better and I always preferred that kind of a situation," said Kohli.
"My role over the years has remained the same, whatever the demand of the game, I put my head down and try to do that," he added.