It was his ninth 50-plus score at a global event against Pakistan, who have now lost both opening fixtures and will be knocked out of their own tournament if New Zealand beat Bangladesh on Monday in Rawalpindi, which would simultaneously guarantee India’s progress to the last four.
After Pakistan were bowled out for a disappointing 241 in 49.4 overs, Kohli took centre stage in Dubai, ticking off 14,000 ODI runs en route to 100 not out off 111 balls in India’s six-wicket victory.
Saud Shakeel (62) and Mohammad Rizwan (46) put on 104 for the third wicket but Pakistan badly lost their way from 151 for two in the 34th over, losing their last eight wickets for just 90 runs.
Kohli put on 69 with Shubman Gill (46) while a 114-run union with Shreyas Iyer (56) broke the back of the chase for India, who won their tournament opener by beating Bangladesh on Thursday.
While Iyer and Hardik Pandya departed within successive overs, the only lingering doubt was whether Kohli, who leapfrogged Tendulkar’s record for the most ODI tons in 2023, would get to three figures.
