Virat Kohli full of pride after setting new fielding record against Pakistan

Virat Kohli garnered significant acclaim for becoming the fastest player to achieve 14,000 runs in one-day internationals (ODIs) on Sunday.

However, he also expressed pride in his fielding accomplishments, as the 36-year-old surpassed a national record that had remained unbroken for over twenty years.

Kohli's remarkable diving catch to dismiss Naseem Shah during India's Champions Trophy victory against Pakistan marked his 157th catch in ODIs, propelling him past Mohammad Azharuddin to claim the record for the most outfield catches by an Indian player in this format.

Azharuddin last took an ODI catch for India in the year 2000.

Additionally, Kohli caught Khushdil Shah in the final over of the match against Pakistan, bringing his total to 158 catches, which ranks him third globally, just two catches behind former Australian captain Ricky Ponting.

The record for the most catches in ODIs is held by Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene, with a total of 218.

"My job is to focus on my skill and to be able to do the job for the team as much as I can," said Kohli, who was named player of the match after India won by six wickets.

"And I think one of the key notes there is I kept telling myself in the field, whenever I was feeling a bit down, that I'm going to put my 100% on every ball that I field and some time I will get the rewards for the hard work that I'm putting in on the ground.

"That's why I take a lot of pride in working hard and running around the field."

Kohli also holds the record for most ODI centuries and scored his 51st on Sunday, his first in the format since November 2023.

SportsLigue