"Virat Kohli had comen 1 hour.."- Shreyas Iyer reveals what led to Kohli's 82nd Century

India defeated Pakistan quite comfortably in the Champions Trophy 2025 match played between the two sides in Dubai on February 23. The two main architects of India's victory in this match were Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer.

The duo came together when Pakistan were desperately looking to come back into the game but stitched a match-winning partnership of 114 runs to take India to the cusp of a win.

After the match, Shreyas Iyer revealed how Virat Kohli was able to play a match-winning knock despite not being at his best in recent times.

Watch: Virat Kohli emulates Suryakumar Yadav, celebrates 51st ODI ton in style, kisses wedding ring

Shreyas Iyer opens up on Virat Kohli's ton

After the match, Shreyas Iyer was asked about the reason behind Virat Kohli's spectacular century in Dubai despite not being amongst the runs recently. Iyer hailed Kohli's strong mindset that makes him different from the others.

Iyer also recalled the team's practice session a day before in which Kohli came an hour before all the players to be at his best during the match. It shows the hunger the great man possesses even at this stage of his career.

"I have never thought of Virat Kohli struggling for runs. It is just the mindset that he possesses over the years. He is always hungry for runs. I remember yesterday, he had come almost an hour before us for practice session & he looked as crisp as he looks all the time," Iyer said.

Shreyas Iyer said - "I have never thought of Virat Kohli struggling for runs. It is just the mindset that he possesses over the years. He is always hungry for runs. I remember yesterday, he had come almost an hour before us for practice session & he looked as crisp as he looks… pic.twitter.com/vcLWD7RA0M

— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) February 24, 2025

Shreyas Iyer feels India could have won earlier

Shreyas Iyer further shed light on the pitch and the conditions during the second innings under lights. He feels that India might have won earlier if they had gone by an aggressive route. He also revealed that the ball was stopping when it got older which made it difficult for the batters.

"I think we could have won a bit earlier, could have been a convincing win based on how the wicket was playing. It was initially coming on pretty well with the new ball and after that it was difficult to score runs when the ball got a bit old. But if we would have played more aggressively we would have won a bit earlier I felt," he added.

Shreyas Iyer came to bat at No. 4 with the score reading 100-2 in 17.3 overs. India had just lost the in-form batter Shubman Gill and they needed a solid partnership against a Pakistan bowling line-up desperate for wickets.

Iyer took his time initially which is unusual according to his standards as he is a naturally aggressive batter. After he got set, he took his chances and started playing his shots. Pakistan's fast bowlers tried to attack him with short balls but he dealt with them quite comfortably.

He completed his fifty off 63 balls. In an attempt to finish the game quickly, Iyer was dismissed for 56 off 67 balls through a brilliant catch at covers by Imam-ul-Haq. He struck 5 fours and 1 six during his knock.

Virat Kohli's match-winning knock

Virat Kohli played another magnificent knock against Pakistan and was the main hero behind India's win. The 36-year-old brought up his 51st ODI hundred and his first since the ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand at Mumbai.

It was a typical Kohli hundred which consisted of few risks and a lot of singles and doubles. Kohli made 72 runs through ones and twos which shows his skill as an ODI batter. He took singles consistently but didn't shy away from putting the bad balls away.

Virat Kohli completed his century from 111 balls and brought it up on the last ball of the match by smashing Khushdil Shah for a four through the covers. It is a sign of a player who can be dangerous in the upcoming games.