Winning Champions Trophy will be jewel in the crown for Virat Kohli

When Virat Kohli holed out in the deep during the Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia in Dubai, there was utter disbelief. Not because India had lost their fifth wicket with 40 still needed from 45 balls, but because Kohli had got out against the run of play so close to the target and after doing all the hard work. Kohli was born to do many masterful things on the cricket field – the foremost being planning and executing a chase in limited overs games. And even though his powers have started to wane in the Test format, Kohli knew the white ball would not disappoint him. Things looked far from rosy, though, after a rough couple of months that included humbling Test series defeats to New Zealand and Australia. It seemed Kohli ’s time at the top was drawing to a close. The Indian board also sent around orders signaling that results will dictate the future of senior players. Which is why the Champions Trophy assumed so much significance for the India team. After the famous T20 World Cup win last year, the walls were closing in on senior players after major setbacks in all formats and with time running out to win one more 'big' title. With the World Test Championship final out of reach after two disastrous defeats, it was all or nothing at the Champions Trophy. Failure to impress there would have meant a guaranteed and immediate overhaul of the team, and possibly the removal of coach Gautam Gambhir . It was under such pressure that Kohli put in one of his finest efforts in a major tournament. Sure, this is a very short event, with India reaching the final after just four games. But in two of those matches, Kohli reinforced his status as the greatest of them all in the format. Against Pakistan, India were chasing a challenging target of 242. Kohli, admittedly not in vintage form, put his head down, focussed on ones and twos and scored a remarkable unbeaten ton in a one-sided win. The challenge was much greater against Australia in the semi-final on Tuesday. Even though the Aussies were missing half their first-choice team and their entire pace attack, the target of 265 on an abrasive Dubai pitch required every bit of grit and focus. Australia remained in the contest by picking up wickets regularly and by not letting India break free. So Kohli decided to cut out all flamboyance and grind the opposition down with ones and twos; his 84 had just five boundaries, while his ton against Pakistan had just seven fours. “I wasn't feeling desperate. I was pretty happy knocking ones around. When as a batsman you start taking pride in hitting singles into the gaps, that's when you know you're playing good cricket,” Kohli explained. It is true that the veteran batsman has scored far more runs at the bigger stage. Kohli is unlikely to ever bat as well as he did during the 2018 England Test series where he alone scored nearly 600 runs in five Tests when the next best was less than 350. He came into his own as a premier batsman during the 2014 Test tour of Australia, was by far and away the top scorer in the 2023 ODI World Cup (765 runs in 11 games) and even scored almost a thousand runs during the 2016 IPL. But given the stage he is at in his career, and what is at stake for many players in the team, Kohli’s performance in the Champions Trophy is likely to remain closest to his heart. Sure, Kohli scored a match-winning fifty in the 2024 T20 World Cup win , but he had failed for the entire tournament before that. Here in Dubai, Kohli has looked in control of his destiny, playing a format he adores, on pitches which have proven to be extremely difficult, and while doing the hard yards while chasing. Kohli and the rest of the players will never forget the pain of the 2023 home World Cup defeat , where they played like the greatest white-ball team of the modern era only to stumble at the last hurdle. But if he delivers one last time during Sunday’s final, also in Dubai, and gets to lift the Champions Trophy, a large part of that pain will subside and Kohli will get to cherish the crown jewel of a remarkable career.

Winning Champions Trophy will be jewel in the crown for Virat Kohli

Star batsman set up yet another run chase in difficult conditions against Australia in Dubai, helping India seal a spot in the final