'at 36 it takes a lot out of me' virat kohli feels his age after guiding india to famous win against pakistan

'at 36 it takes a lot out of me' virat kohli feels his age after guiding india to famous win against pakistan

put on a masterclass against arch-rivals Pakistan, hitting an unbeaten 100 to help India register a comprehensive six-wicket win with 45 balls to spare in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium. After the match, Kohli made a candid admission, saying it now gets tougher for him to maintain the intensity and keep doing the hard yards day in and day out.

Kohli, 36, said he is now looking forward to India's one-week off. Rohit Sharma and co. will play their last group-stage match against New Zealand on Sunday, March 2. The right-hander said that he will make the most of the week-long break that awaits.

Kohli completed his 51st ODI century off 111 balls with the help of seven fours as India gunned down 242 with relative ease. Kohli looked like the world-beater he has always been as he unleashed his aesthetic cover drives. The running between the wicket was top-notch, with Kohli shutting the doors on a potential Pakistan comeback.

‘A week off, is it a good thing or otherwise? To be honest, at 36, it's very good. I don't know about the 23-24 year olds, but for me, it's really, really good. I just need to put my feet up for two days because it takes a lot out of me now to keep putting that kind of effort on the field, and I'm just thankful we have a bit of time off now,’ Kohli said after receiving the Player of the Match award.

Kohli was struggling for runs as he entered the contest against Pakistan. Left-arm spin proved to be his nemesis, and in the last six games, Kohli had lost his wicket to slow bowlers in ODIs.

However, he decided to step up against Pakistan, and there was no looking back. ‘It feels good to be able to back in that manner in an important game where we wanted to seal our qualification into the semis and to contribute in a situation like that where we kind of lost early, and then we had to string in a partnership, took the learnings from the last game that we played, the conditions, the understanding of how to go about things.’