Former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram lavished praise on India batting great Virat Kohli after his calculated knock against Australia at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at Dubai International Stadium in Dubai. Virat Kohli, who came to bat in the fifth over after Shubman Gill’s wicket, scored 84 runs in India’s four-wicket win.
With this Virat Kohli became the second batter in the world to cross the 800 run mark while chasing in ODIs. Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar tops the tally with 8,720 runs in ODI run chases. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram believes that Virat Kohli will break Tendulkar’s record citing his current performance. The top five ODI run-chase scorers in world cricket are Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis.
Virat Kohli’s 84 runs vs Australia sends record books thrashing in the Champions Trophy 2025
Virat Kohli surpassed 8,000 runs in ODI run chases with his knock of 84 runs in India’s four-wicket win over Australia in the Champions Trophy semi-finals. With his knock of 84 runs in India’s four-wicket win over Australia in the Champions Trophy semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday, Virat Kohli became only the second batsman in the world to cross the 8,000-run mark in ODI run chases.
Sachin Tendulkar currently sits at the top of the list with 8,720 runs in ODI run chases. Former Pakistan pacer and captain Wasim Akram believes Kohli’s record is phenomenal and he is one of the greats of the game. The top five ODI run-chase scorers in world cricket are Tendulkar, Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis.
While India scored their fourth win against Australia in the knockouts of ICC ODI tournaments on Tuesday, Australia suffered their first loss in knockouts of the ICC Tournament in ODI format with their last such loss coming in the quarter-final of the 2011 World Cup.
During his knock against Australia, Virat Kohli became the first player to score 1000 runs in knockout matches of ICC events across all three formats. India ODI and Test captain Rohit Sharma is nearing the batting great with 808 runs. Virat Kohli has also played more knockout matches (21) than anyone else in ICC tournament history. Mahela Jayawardene, Rohit Sharma, and Kumar Sangakkara have played 20 each. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram believes that Virat Kohli will break Tendulkar’s record citing his current performance.
Pakistan legend Wasim Akram backs Indian batter Virat Kohli to break Master Blaster’s huge ODI record
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram reckons that Virat Kohli will break Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most runs in ODI chases. While reflecting on the Indian batting star’s numbers in one-day chases, he described them as phenomenal.
Virat Kohli broke a plethora of records during his match-winning knock of 84 against Australia in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal in Dubai on Tuesday, March 4. The 36-year-old also crossed the 8000-run mark in ODI chases during his innings. Tendulkar (8,720) holds the record for having scored most runs in chases in one-dayers. Kohli is second on the illustrious list followed by Rohit Sharma (6,115).
During a discussion on the show ‘The Pavillion’ on Ten Sports, Akram backed Virat Kohli to surpass Tendulkar and move to the top of the list among batters with most runs in ODI chases. He commented (as quoted by The Indian Express):
“Look at these all names with the highest run chasers. Sachin, Rohit, Jayasuriya and Kallis. There are the greats of the game and Kohli is definitely going to pass Sachin Tendulkar the way it looks like. Kohli’s average is only second to MS Dhoni. Dhoni got close to 100 and Kohli’s average is close to 90. That’s just phenomenal.”
Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya (5,742) and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis (5,575) complete the top five list of batters with most runs in chases in ODIs.
Before Kohli’s heroics with the bat, Australian captain Steve Smith top-scored for his side with 73 off 96 in the first semifinal against India. Alex Carey also contributed 61 off 57, but the Aussies were held to 264. Akram agreed that Australia needed to post 300 on the board considering their inexperienced bowling line-up. The former Pakistan captain said:
“Josh Hazelwood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins could not come, two were injured and one did not come due to personal reasons. But Australia did not help their cause. Like Steve Smith said, if the score was 290-300, then they would have got a chance. These two wickets of Smith and (Glenn) Maxwell made them score a below-par score.”
Incidentally, Smith announced his retirement from ODIs a day after the loss to Team India in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal.
Virat Kohli broke a number of impressive records during his 84-run knock in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal against Australia. The 36-year-old notched up his 24th 50-plus score in ICC ODI events, surpassing the previous record held by Tendulkar. He also became the first batter to reach 1,000 runs in ICC knockout matches across formats.
Virat Kohli now also holds the record for being the highest run-getter for India in the Champions Trophy. The right-handed has 746 runs to his name from 17 matches at an average of 82.88. The previous record was held by Shikhar Dhawan (701). Rohit Sharma-led India will now feature in the Champions Trophy final which is scheduled to start from March 9 at the same venue. India’s opponent for the final will be decided after the South Africa vs New Zealand semifinal clash.