Virat Kohli, the star batsman for India, accomplished yet another feat in the current ICC Champions Trophy when he hit a century against Pakistan.
Virat Kohli, the star batsman for India, became the first player to make an ODI century in every nation he has played in, achieving yet another feat during his century against Pakistan in the current ICC Champions Trophy. The chase master gave the spectators at Dubai International Stadium a masterclass, scoring seven hundreds and 100* in 111 balls. The ten nations where Virat has played ODI cricket are Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, and, lastly, his native India. Virat has now hit an ODI century in each of these nations. In addition, Virat became the fourth player to record ODI hundreds in ten or more countries, joining the select group of greats like Chris Gayle, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sanath Jayasuriya. According to Wisden, Sanath and Sachin have played in 12 of the 15 and 16 countries they have visited for their ODI matches over their careers, while Gayle and Virat have played in 10 of those countries.
Since Virat has ODI hundreds in each of the ten nations he has played in, he is the most unique of these four. However, Sanath, Sachin, and Gayle were unable to use their centuries to capture some ODI territory. Sachin failed to get hundreds in Ireland, Kenya, Canada, and the West Indies, while Sanath was unable to reach hundreds in ODIs in Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Algeria. Additionally, Gayle was unable to reach hundreds in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Ireland.Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first in the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy match. Babar Azam (23 in 26 balls, with five fours) opened the scoring with some brilliant drives, giving Pakistan a strong start. Two fast wickets left Pakistan at 47/2.
Saud Shakeel (62 in 76 balls, with five fours) and captain Mohammed Rizwan (46 in 77 balls, with three fours) had a 104-run partnership, however they took a lot of deliveries. Salman Agha (19) and Naseem Shah (14), who were swept out for 241 runs in 49.4 overs, did put up a fight with Khushdil Shah (38 in 39 balls, with two sixes) after this partnership ended.India lost captain Rohit Sharma (20 in 15 balls, with three fours and a six) early in the chase for 242 runs. Then, with six wickets and 45 balls remaining, India won easily by four wickets thanks to a 69-run partnership between Shubman Gill (46 in 52 balls, with seven fours) and Virat Kohli (100* in 111 balls, with seven fours) and a 114-run partnership between Virat and Iyer (56 in 67 balls, with five fours and a six).
