Dubai: Virat Kohli ended his ODI century drought in emphatic fashion in the Champions Trophy match against Pakistan on Sunday night.
But it’s certainly no surprise to Shreyas Iyer that ‘King Kohli’ played a dominant role.
Kohli has blasted his way back to his emphatic best, just in time for India to make a deep run in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
His unbeaten ton led India’s successful chase against fierce rivals Pakistan, ending an ODI century drought that dates back to November, 2023.
Kohli’s mental toughness is something that is very rarely questioned, but there’s a fresh dose of evidence that even in his twilight years, the batting legend remains as motivated as ever.
Speaking to the media after India’s six-wicket win, capped off by a glorious Kohli boundary that brought up his three figures, teammate Shreyas revealed what kind of hard yards Kohli has been putting in behind the scenes, an ICC report said.
“I remember yesterday he had come almost an hour before us for the practice session,” Iyer revealed.
“He played a few balls … he looked as crisp as he looks all the time. It's just the mindset that he possesses over the years. He's always hungry for runs," Iyer said.
“So, I never feel that he's struggling for runs, to be honest,” he said.
Iyer spent plenty of time at the crease with Virat against Pakistan, as the pair compiled 114 runs for the third wicket – a partnership that proved pivotal in India’s run chase.
And while their win all-but secures semi-finals progression, Iyer post-game continued to demonstrate the ruthless mindset that he displayed on the way to 56 runs off 67 balls.
“I think we could have won a bit earlier, could have been a convincing win based on how the wicket was playing," he said.
“It was initially coming on pretty well with the new ball and after that it was difficult to score runs when the ball got a bit old. But if we would have played more aggressively we would have won a bit earlier I felt,” Iyer said.
India’s bowlers put the clamps on Pakistan, making life difficult particularly through the middle overs. It was a performance that will have India’s slow bowlers, specifically, feeling increasingly confident as the tournament continues to unfold.
“They bowled tremendously, especially in the middle phase where the ball was turning,” he continued.
“I think everyone played a crucial role in this victory," Iyer said.
“Any victory against Pakistan is sweet because it's always competitive and it's a challenge and there's a lot of external pressure. It was a lot of fun. It was my third game against Pakistan. It was fun,” he added.
