Virat Kohli, after facing some intense questions on his career post India’s loss in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, is slowly hitting top class in the Champions Trophy 2025. After an unbeaten century against Pakistan, Virat Kohli scored a crucial 84 off 98 balls against Australia in the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final. Virat Kohli’s innings included only five fours and no six. Virat Kohli’s strike-rate was 85.71 and the gritty effort included 56 singles and four twos, indicating his exemplary fitness level.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Kohli’s innings in India’s chase of 265 in the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final led former England captain to hail his as the best chaser in history. Virat Kohli’s wife and actor Anushka Sharma was also present in the stands and after India’s win over Australia, the couple shared a special moment. The video of the incident has gone viral.
Virat Kohli’s reaction to Anushka Sharma after the Victory pic.twitter.com/wKCG9beLgX
— Virat Kohli Fan Club (@Trend_VKohli) March 4, 2025
Meanwhile, after suffering a four-wicket loss against India in the Champions Trophy semi-final, Australia captain Steve Smith feels that if they had scored a target of more than 280 then the outcome would have been different.
Riding on Virat Kohli’s 84, KL Rahul (42 not out) and Hardik Pandya (28 off 24 balls) gave the finishing touches to India’s chase of 265 to progress to the final of the eight-team competition.
Opting to bat first, Smith smashed 73 runs while Marnus Labuschagne contributed 61 as Indian bowlers bundled out Australia for 264/10 in 49.3 overs. Mohammed Shami bagged three scalps while Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakaravarthy claimed two wickets each.
“I thought the bowlers did a really good job, they worked hard throughout, the spinners squeezed and took the game deep. It was a tricky wicket to start on batting, tough to rotate the strike, everyone did a really good job tonight. It played pretty similar throughout. Little bit of hold for the spinners, little bit of spin and a bit of skid. For the pacers, it was two-paced. We probably could have got a few more on. We lost a couple of wickets at crucial times,” Smith said in the post-match presentation.
“If we got 280+, things would have been different. Felt like we were one wicket too many down at each stage of the game. The way we’ve come together. The bowling unit did a wonderful job, some of the batters stood up. We played exceptionally well against England. Some really good cricketers, they are going to get bigger and better,” he added.
With IANS inputs
from: NDTV Sports-Latest