Rohit Sharma and his India team-mates never had any doubts over the greatness of Virat Kohli, whose unbeaten century helped his side past Pakistan on Sunday.

Kohli's 51st ODI ton saw Rohit's team over the line with 45 balls to spare, the India star smashing the final delivery through extra cover to bring up three figures and a monumental Champions Trophy win.

The 36-year-old had not managed a century in this format since November 2023, scoring 117 against New Zealand, but roared back with an emphatic response to put India close to the last four.

Kohli also broke the record as the fastest batter to 14,000 ODI runs in what was his 287th innings, taking 63 fewer than fellow India legend Sachin Tendulkar.

Rohit said he always expected his veteran team-mate to perform after Kohli delivered the vital blow against fierce rivals Pakistan, who will exit the tournament on Monday should New Zealand beat Bangladesh.

"Virat loves representing the country. He wants to be out there playing for the team and doing what he does best, which is what he did today," the India captain said in his post-match interview.

"People in the dressing room aren't surprised with what he did."

Virat Kohli keeps adding to his greatness #ChampionsTrophy #PAKvIND : https://t.co/Xznber5ZVT pic.twitter.com/yo9IbtzNvS

— ICC (@ICC) February 23, 2025

Pakistan fell to a 60-run defeat in Wednesday's opener against New Zealand, though a much-improved batting showing on Sunday helped them to 151-2.

Mohammad Rizwan was then dismissed on 46 by Axar Patel, however, before Saud Shakeel followed to Hardik Pandya when looking set after crafting 62.

Khushdil Shah offered some brief resistance with 38 but Kuldeep Yadav's 3-40 saw Pakistan collapse to 241 all out, a target that Rizwan admitted was too low.

"We thought 280 would be a good score on that pitch but their bowlers bowled very well," Rizwan said.

"Myself and Saud Shakeel took our time because we wanted to go deep but after that, there was some poor shot selection.

"They bowled very well, put us under pressure, and that's why we only got 240.

"When you lose, it means you didn't perform in all departments. They were more attacking and we didn't get the wickets we wanted. We failed to squeeze [them]."