Kohli century puts India on brink of Champions Trophy semis

India are on the cusp of the Champions Trophy semi-finals after defeating Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, with a Virat Kohli century spearheading the six-wicket victory.

Pakistan came into the clash between the two fierce rivals as heavy underdogs across cricket betting sites, paying as long as +200 to win.

The world No.3 team began slowly in the face of a nervy Indian bowling attack that sprayed five wides in the opening over.

Imam-ul-Haq (10) and Babar Azam (23) put on 41 runs for the first wicket but were removed in consecutive overs, leaving two fresh batsmen at the crease in the 10^th over.

Saud Shakeel (62) and Mohammad Rizwan (46) then built a promising partnership to take their team through to 151/2.

However, Pakistan were unable to capitalise on the strong platform the pair had created.

Wickets in back-to-back overs again left Pakistan reeling, but this time there was no recovering as eight wickets fell for 90 runs to leave the side all out for a below-par 241.

India vs Pakistan encounters have been characterised by gritty defences of low scores, but this was not one of those times.

Rohit Sharma (20) and Shubman Gill (46) got the world No.1 side off to a strong start, with the former slashing four boundaries across his 15-ball stay.

While captain Rohit did not stick around for long, his departure brought in former skipper Kohli, who wound back the years to produce a brilliant tonne.

Shreyas Iyer (56) kept the 36-year-old company for the majority of his innings, with Kohli hitting his 51^st ODI century on the final ball of the chase to finish on 100 not out.

“We started superbly with the ball,” Rohit said after the match.

“We knew the wicket could get slower but backed our experienced batters to go out there and get 240. 

“It was a good performance from the entire unit. 

“The boys understand what kind of job is required out of them. 

“Virat loves representing the country, doing what he does the best, which is what he did today. 

“People sitting inside the dressing room aren’t surprised with what he did.”

The win means India are all but assured of a place in the Champions Trophy semi-finals after beating Bangladesh in their opening match.

Should New Zealand win on Monday evening, India’s qualification for the final four will be confirmed.

As a result, cricket bookmakers have brought India into +130 to win the tournament, ahead of Australia (+333) and New Zealand (+400).