Kohli, a master chaser whose rule over ODIs stays unscathed

He is the ultimate combination of the hunger for runs that defined Tendulkar and the coolness that made Dhoni the best finisher in the world

- Rasesh Mandani

DUBAI: With roughly half the India innings still to be played in the Champions Trophy match against Pakistan, the match had ceased to be a contest. India were well ahead of the game, Pakistan just weren't feeling it and the only thing that still had fans glued to their screens was Virat Kohli's march towards a century.

Of course, Kohli has done this countless times before but given his recent struggles, this was something that he and his legion of fans desperately wanted.

For a game that lacked any real drama, the idea that he might be denied a century as the innings was coming to a close had people praying, and cursing Hardik Pandya (who came out in an aggressive mode to alarmingly whittle down the target). Even skipper Rohit Sharma was forced out of his chair, exhorting Kohli to hit the final runs into the gap.

When he did that (100* off 111 balls), the crowd roared its approval and Kohli raised his bat to acknowledge them before calmly gesturing towards the dressing room as if to say "no need to worry, I'm here".

Indeed, Kohli is very much here. Still here. He is the ultimate combination of the hunger for runs that defined Sachin Tendulkar and the coolness that made Mahendra Singh Dhoni the best finisher the game has seen. To that, he has added his own dose of fitness. Pakistan simply had to answer to his genius.

Well, in ODIs, few ever do.

"I am in awe of his hard work," Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan said after the game. "What kind of hard work he must have put in? The whole world is saying he is out of form, but he comes to a big match the whole world waits for, and scores runs effortlessly. I will praise his hard work and his fitness levels. We tried our best to get him out, but he got the better of us."