INDvsPAK: Virat Kohli, at 36, feels his age after leading India to win against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy match

Virat Kohli performed like an icon and broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become the fastest to reach 14000 runs in ODIs.

Virat Kohli shined like a true-blue star at the recently concluded India vs Pakistan match of the Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium. He scored a massive unbeaten 100 to help India register a comprehensive 6-wicket win with 45 balls to spare. After the match, the star made a candid admission, pointing out that at 36, it takes a lot out of him to maintain the intensity and keep doing the hard yards every time. He also broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become the fastest to reach 14000 runs in ODIs.

Virat Kohli scored 100 of 111 balls.

The right-hander scored 100 off 111 balls with the help of 7 fours as he helped India chase down 242 with 45 balls to spare. Getting candid about getting a week off, Kohli, post-match receiving the Player of the Match award, said, “A week off, is it a good thing or otherwise? To be honest, at 36, it’s very good. I don’t know about the 23-24 year olds, but for me, it’s really, really good. I just need to put my feet up for two days because it takes a lot out of me now to keep putting that kind of effort on the field, and I’m just thankful we have a bit of time off now.”

Virat Kohli feels he is well aware of the game.

After talking about feeling good to be back in the game to help India win against Pakistan, controlling the middle overs, Kohli talked about being aware of the game. He said, “I have a decent understanding of my game over the years. For me, it’s just about keeping the outside noise and the distractions away. I try to stay in my space as much as possible, really take care of how my energy levels are, what am I thinking, my thoughts because it’s very easy for me to kind of get pulled into the expectations and the frenzy around games like these.”

He added, “My job is to focus on my skills and to be able to do the job for the team as much as I can, and I think one of the key notes there is I kept telling myself in the field whenever I was feeling a bit down that I’m going to put my 100 per cent on every ball that I field and sometime I will get the rewards for the hard work that I’m putting in on the ground so that’s why I take a lot of pride in working hard and running around the field as well.”