Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar revealed his special wish for star India batter Virat Kohli, backing him to complete 100 international centuries. Kohli scored his 51st ODI century on Sunday, February 23 against Pakistan as he helped India register a six-wicket win over the arch-rivals. He remained unbeaten on 100 off 111 balls with the help of seven fours.
Courtesy of his innings, India comfortably chased down the target of 242 in 42.3 overs and almost sealed their place in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Following another match-winning century from Kohli’s bat, Akhtar praised the Indian batting stalwart as he continued his phenomenal record against Pakistan.
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Despite being heartbroken by Pakistan’s defeat, Shoaib Akhtar said he was ‘not disappointed at all’ as he heaped praise on Kohli’s masterclass, which lit up the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Kohli has made it a habit to hurt Pakistan in these high-stakes ICC tournaments. The superstar produced a magical knock three years ago when the two teams met in an ICC T20 World Cup match in Melbourne.
“Again we all saw, if you tell Virat Kohli that he’s going to play against Pakistan, he will come fully prepared and score a century. Hats off to him, he’s like a superstar, he’s a white-ball run chaser, a modern-day great. There’s no doubt about that, I’m really happy for him as he’s an honest man,” Shoaib Akhtar said in a video on X.
“He also completed his 14,000 runs in ODIs today, I hope he goes on to complete 100 international centuries in the future. I really want him to do that, I hope this guy gets it all. I’m really really happy for him. Wish him all the best and I think, he deserves all the praises seriously. The way he came out and played a flawless innings today,” he added.
It was Kohli’s 82nd international hundred and he sits on the second spot in the elite list after his idol Sachin Tendulkar, who has 100 centuries to his name. During his innings, Kohli also became the fastest player to complete 14,000 international runs and broke another record held by Tendulkar. He earlier broke his record for most ODI hundreds during the World Cup 2023, as he registered his 50th ton to surpass Tendulkar’s feat of 49 centuries.
Meanwhile, Kohli was under immense pressure heading into the game against Pakistan as he had scored just 137 runs in his last six ODIs. However, he answered his critics in some style with another match-winning hundred from his blade.
