Former Australian Captain and Legendary cricketer Ricky Ponting praised star Indian cricketer, often referred to as 'King of Cricket', Virat Kohli and considers him as the best player to have ever player the 50-over format. The 37-year-old cricketer from India, while playing against their arch-rival Pakistan in Dubai, registered his first ever century in ICC Champions Trophy and the 51st in One-Day International (ODI) cricket. His century not only helped India secure their spot in the semi-final but also knocked the host nation out of the tournament Batting first, Pakistan posted 241 runs before being bundled out on the fourth delivery of the 47th over. Skipper Rizwan scored 46, Saud Shakeel scored 62 and quick 38 from Khushdil in the end helped their side to achieve a respectable total. However, it was an easy win for India as Pakistan struggled with the ball since the first delivery. Rohit's quick 20, Gill's 40, Iyer's 56, and a ton by Kohli helped India complete the chase with 45 balls to spare. With this innings, Virat surpassed Ponting's tally of 27483 international runs and became the third-highest run-scorer in international cricket. He currently has 27503 runs ahead of his name, making him just 513 runs behind the Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara who has scored 28,016 runs and is second after Sachin Tendulkar, who sits at the top with 34,357 runs. Also Read | BCCI Plans Red-Ball Training for Test Stars During IPL 2025 Praising Virat Kohli after he surpassed the former Aussie skipper, the legend Ricky Ponting said: "With someone like Virat, you never write him off, because I'm sure he'd be motivated by that [achieving the record], I think. Now that he's gone past me and only two ahead of him, I'm sure he wants to give himself the best chance to be remembered as the all-time leading run scorer in the game. So, as long as the hunger's there, obviously, physically wise, he's probably as fit as he's ever been and works exceptionally hard on that side of his game. So, if the hunger's still there, then I'm never going to write him off." Kohli Nears Sangakkara's ODI Tally Players Runs Innings Sachin Tendulkar 18,426 452 Kumar Sangakkara 14,234 380 Virat Kohli 14,085 287* With two more possible games (three if India reaches the final of the Champions Trophy 2025), Virat Kohli has an opportunity to surpass Kumar Sangakkara's 14,234 runs and achieve second place on the list of most runs in ODI cricket. Currently, the Indian cricketer is 149 runs behind the former Sri Lankan left-hander. Speaking about Kohli's chance to surpass Sangakkara and closing Tendulkar's ODI record, Ponting said: "I know he's nice and close to Sangakkara now. I don't think it's going to be long, maybe the next game before he goes past Sangakkara. But still, a little way to go to catch Sachin. He's obviously been a champion player for a long, long time. And particularly, probably in the white-ball formats where he's been an unbelievably good 50-over player." Also Read | BCCI Bars CSK from Training at Chepauk Before IPL 2025 He added: "In fact, I think I'm on record before saying I don't think I've ever seen a better 50-over player than Virat Kohli." Talking about Kohli's ability perform in the high-pressure games, Ponting said: "Look, I've always said big games equal big names. You need your big names to stand up in those big moments. And no bigger game for India than a game against Pakistan. So, it's no surprise to me that that has happened. I think it's very much the same as what we would say whenever we play England. Your reputation is forged in what you do in the biggest contests on the international stage. And no bigger moment than Sunday night when Pakistan had batted first on a tricky wicket. It needed someone at the top of the order to play a match-winning innings like that. And once again, it was Kohli to get the job done."