Published: Feb 24, 2025, 10:33 AM (IST)
Edited: Feb 24, 2025, 10:33 AM (IST)
Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan couldn’t help but praise India star batter Virat Kohli in the post-match press conference on Sunday. Kohli came into the showdown against Pakistan on the back of an embarrassing run that saw even his place in the team being questioned repeatedly.
However, Kohli answered all his critics in style and completed his 82nd international century to guide India to the target of 242. The unbeaten knock of 100 runs from 111 deliveries saw Kohli also become the fastest player in history to surpass the 14,000-run mark in one-day cricket.
Rizwan wasn’t just left fascinated with Virat’s effortless chase masterclass; but also the fitness level the India star has managed to maintain despite being 36 years old.
“First, let’s talk about Virat Kohli. I am surprised at his hard work. He must have worked so hard. The world says he is out of form, but he comes to such big matches, which the world is waiting for, and he easily hits the ball – and this is where we don’t want to give him runs. But he plays and gets away from us, and he gets the runs off the ball,” Rizwan said in the post-match press conference.
“I will definitely praise his fitness level and hard work, the way he has done it. Because he is a cricketer and we are also cricketers. We tried very hard to get him out, but he took the game away. He has done a lot of hard work. The whole world said he was out of form – But he did it in this big match,” Rizwan added.
After losing their opening 2 matches in the Champions Trophy, Pakistan’s chances of making it through to the semi-finals are quite slim. Their fate now rests in the hands of Bangladesh who will be facing New Zealand on Monday, February 24. If the Tigers manage to beat the Black Caps, then the Men in Green will still remain in contention to qualify.
