Virat Kohli Breaks Ponting’s Record with Stunning Century On February 23, at Dubai, Virat Kohli’s dominant century sealed a 6-run win against Pakistan and made him surpass Ricky Ponting’s record of most international runs. Heading into the match, he needed 81 runs to overtake Ponting’s 27,483-run tally. He reached the landmark in the 36th over, making him the third-highest run-scorer in international cricket. Only Sachin Tendulkar (34,357) and Kumar Sangakkara (28,016) stand ahead of him now. Kohli’s century against Pakistan was his 51st ODI century, further cementing his dominance in the format. It was also his first-ever hundred in the Champions Trophy, a feat that made the victory even sweeter. Along with his batting records, he also overtook Mohammad Azharuddin’s tally for most ODI catches by an Indian, with 158 grabs in 299 matches. The Indian chase of 242 was perfectly paced, with Kohli holding the innings together. Shubman Gill’s 46 and Shreyas Iyer’s fluent 56 played supporting roles, but it was Kohli who finished things off in style. Most runs in international cricket Players Country Runs Sachin Tendulkar India 34,357 Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka 28,016 Virat Kohli India 27,503* Ricky Ponting Australia 27,483 Mahela Jayawardene Sri Lanka 25,957 Read also: IND vs PAK Live: ICC CT 2025 Match 5 - Ball-by-Ball Commentary Mohammad Rizwan Hails Kohli After Pakistan’s Defeat After Pakistan’s second consecutive loss in the tournament, captain Mohammad Rizwan praised Kohli’s brilliance. Speaking in the post-match press conference, he acknowledged Kohli’s work ethic and resilience. In the post-match press conference, Rizwan said. "I'm totally impressed with Virat Kohli's ethics. I'll praise his fitness and efforts, people say he's out of form, but tonight he did it effortlessly.” Rizwan further expressed his frustration for not being able to capitalize on winning the toss. Rizwan admitted that their batting and fielding let them down. He added, “We won the toss, but we didn't get the benefit of toss. Their bowlers bowled very well. Me and Saud Shakeel, we wanted to take it deep. Poor shot selection. They put us under pressure. Whenever you lose, you didn't perform in all departments. We wanted to squeeze, but we couldn't. Kohli and Gill batted very well and took the game away. We need to improve in our fielding. We did a lot of mistakes in this match.” With India now leading Group A with four points, their semi-final berth looks certain. Meanwhile, Pakistan faces an early exit needing a miracle to stay alive in the tournament.