INDIA beat Pakistan by six wickets in a one-sided Champions Trophy clash here on Sunday to all but seal a spot in the semi-finals. A vintage Kohli scored his 51st ODI hundred complementing Indian bowlers who were stunningly accurate as they dismissed Pakistan for 241. On his way to the record-extending hundred, Kohli became the fastest to score 14,000 ODI runs surpassing his idol Sachin Tendulkar. India completed the chase in 42.3 overs thanks to Kohli (100 not out off 111), Shubman Gill (46 off 52) and Shreyas Iyer (56 off 67). Skipper Rohit Sharma (20 off 15) too played a few audacious strokes before falling to a beauty from Shaheen Afridi.

 

With two wins in as many games, India are all but through to the semi-finals. Pakistan, on the other hand, are on the brink of elimination after losing their first two group games. Earlier, Saud Shakeel struck 62 off 76 balls while skipper Mohammad Rizwan made a laborious 46 from 77 deliveries. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav (3-40) picked up three wickets and all-rounder Hardik Pandya (2-31) removed Babar Azam (23) and Shakeel. Kohli rebelled against his own modest recent form and a dangerous opposition to peel off a memorable knock that took 111 balls and was punctuated with seven fours. Once again, Pakistan ran into their old nemesis — Kohli. Pakistan might have hoped to hustle him a bit through pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf. But Kohli drove them on the up with elan or pulled them with audacity as Pakistan’s premier pacers transformed into dejected figures after the early high.