Virat Kohli proves he’s still the ‘King’ in crucial India-Pakistan Champions Trophy showdown

Published on Authored by Sudipto Maity

With India needing just two runs to win the match against Pakistan, Virat Kohli shimmied down the pitch and hit the ball through the cover region to pick a boundary. It not only gave India and Indians their bragging rights against the arch-rivals, but it also led to another Kohli century in one of the most Kohli-esque run chases ever.

Virat Kohli acknowledges the crowd after he reached his century and India won the match against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on February 23, 2025. Photo courtesy: x.com/BCCI
Virat Kohli acknowledges the crowd after he reaches his century and India wins the match against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on February 23, 2025. Photo courtesy: x.com/BCCI

It was yet another story of VK burying his haters with the bat, with runs in an all-important encounter that has been dubbed the greatest rivalry in the world of cricket: India Vs Pakistan. Those who were calling for Kohli’s head just days ago were also seen acknowledging the ‘King’, with some going a step forward and calling him an ‘Emperor’.

Kohli, now 36, is past his prime (or is he?). Runs don’t flow from his bat like they used to once. And this leads to calls for his removal from the squad whenever the team plays poorly, often led by a panel of former cricketers and experts.

Take, for example, the match at the Dubai International Stadium. This was Kohli’s 51st century in the ODI format. His record-breaking 50th ton in the format came during the 2023 ODI World Cup semifinal against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in November 2023.

Since then, he apparently struggled, as — by the lofty standards that he has set for himself — Virat Kohli failed to score an ODI century for over 15 months, until the jinx was broken on February 23, 2025, in the UAE.

During this time, however, the King has helped India win the T20 World cup in 2024 and even scored a century Down Under, his happy hunting ground, in Test cricket. But for many, those were not enough.

And like the norm — as it has been for a few years now — just when the chaos starts to build around him, Kohli looks the most calm. It is as if VK uses the chaos as a ladder to get out of the proverbial pit. The other factor that one needs to account for is Kohli’s ability to turn up in big games. Be it against Australia or Pakistan — two of India’s fiercest rivals — Kohli seems to take the opposition head on and comes out with flying colours in most matches.

So, on Sunday, the situation presented both — an apparently out-of-form Virat Kohli representing India against Pakistan in an ICC event. If you are a Kohli fan, you knew what was coming.

On October 23, 2022, India was struggling against Pakistan at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia in an ICC T20 World Cup game. Chasing 161 in a T20 match, India needed 61 runs in the last five overs to win and had already lost four crucial wickets. India had already lost to Pakistan in an encounter in the previous edition while Virat Kohli was the captain.

To date, that loss remains the only blemish in India’s World Cup record (ODI and T20 combined) against Pakistan. Memories of that 10-wicket drubbing came flooding back as the Pakistani bowlers tightened the noose on the Indian batsmen at the MCG. In the middle were Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli, who was struggling to time the ball, which reflected the struggles he was going through then. By this point, people were calling for his head, as Kohli was failing more often than fans were used to seeing him.

But things changed in the penultimate over of the game. Kohli was somehow able to muster all his skills to produce two breathtaking cricketing shots that had the cricket world shake in excitement. Not only that, he remained unbeaten as India gunned down the target — which had looked unattainable just a few overs ago — to serve large portions of humble pie to his doubters.

But that was a few years ago. Virat Kohli had to make his point again, prove his ability, and justify his selection to hawkish fans, and he did just that on Sunday.

Talk about letting your craft do the talking…