Champions Trophy 2025: ‘Was doing maths for his ton,’ reveals Axar on moments before Kohli’s 51st ODI century
Cricket, Sports: As Virat Kohli approached his ton, Axar turned into a human calculator, crunching numbers while silently praying he wouldn’t edge the ball at the other end.
As Virat Kohli neared his century against Pakistan, Axar Patel found himself playing the role of a human calculator—mentally crunching numbers and silently praying he wouldn’t edge the ball, all to ensure the star batter reached his milestone. Walking in with India needing 19 runs to win and Kohli unbeaten on 86, Axar admitted, "Even I was doing the math for his hundred towards the end. I was just hoping I wouldn’t edge the ball or anything. It was quite fun," in a video posted by the ICC.
However, Shaheen Afridi’s three wides in the 42nd over complicated Kohli’s path to the hundred. At one point, Axar was even booed for taking a single, as fans desperately wanted Kohli to stay on strike.
With Kohli on 96 and India just two runs away from victory, skipper Rohit Sharma playfully signaled for him to finish the game with a six. Instead, Kohli, in his signature style, elegantly drove the ball to the boundary, bringing up his century in style.
Watch the video here:
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"It was the first time I got to witness a high-pressure game from the dressing room where Virat bhaiya scored a century. Watching him run between the wickets with such intensity after fielding for 50 overs is a testament to his fitness," Axar added.
With commanding wins over Bangladesh and Pakistan, India are now all but assured of a spot in the Champions Trophy semifinals.
Jay Shah congratulates Kohli on completing 14,000 ODI runs
International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah congratulated India's stalwart batter Virat Kohli on scoring his 51st One Day International (ODI) hundred and completing 14,000 runs in the 50-over format.
The former BCCI secretary took to his official social media handle and praised the Kohli cover drive which took him to the 14,000 runs milestone. "Congratulations @imVkohli on passing 14,000 ODI runs during the #ChampionsTrophy match against Pakistan here in Dubai - and what a classic cover drive to reach the milestone," he wrote on X.