Virat Kohli starred with the bat in India’s six-wicket victory over Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (February 23).

Chasing 242 to win, skipper Rohit Sharma laid the foundation again with a quick 15-ball 20, including three fours and a six. Shubman Gill took over with seven boundaries from the other end and scored 46 (52 balls) before being dismissed.

However, it was Kohli’s unbeaten hundred (100 off 111) that proved to be decisive. Shreyas Iyer also produced 56 off 67 balls to take India over the line with 45 deliveries to spare.

Speaking on The ICC Review, Australian legend Ricky Ponting praised Kohli’s ability to deliver in crucial situations.

“I've always said big games equal big names. You need your big names to stand up in those big moments, and no bigger game for India than a game against Pakistan,” Ponting said.

“Your reputation is forged in what you do in the biggest contests on the international stage. So it's no surprise to me that that has happened,” he added.

Ponting also recalled the star batter’s clutch knock of 82 runs in the T20 World Cup 2022 match against Pakistan at MCG.

“Yeah, as you say, 2022 and now, he stood up against the team that he would probably steel himself the most to play against," Ponting said.

“And no bigger moment than last night when Pakistan had batted first on a tricky wicket. It needed someone at the top of the order to play a match-winning innings like that. And once again, it was Kohli to get the job done.”

It was Kohli’s 51st century in the 50-over format. With this knock, he also became the fastest batter to reach the milestone of 14,000 ODI runs. His feat has come in 350 ODI innings, 28 fewer than Sangakkara and 63 fewer than Tendulkar.

“He's obviously been a champion player for a long, long time. And particularly in the white-ball formats, where he's been an unbelievably good 50-over player,” Ponting said.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better 50-over player than Virat Kohli. Now that he's gone past me and only two ahead of him, I'm sure he would want to give himself the best chance to be remembered as the all-time leading run scorer in the game.

“As long as the hunger's there, obviously physical-wise, he’s probably as fit as he's ever been and works exceptionally hard on that side of his game.”

With Kohli now just 149 runs behind Sangakkara but over 4,000 short of Tendulkar, Ponting was asked if the latter’s record was within reach.

“It’s crazy when you think about it, isn’t it? Just how good Virat’s been over such a long period of time, yet he’s still 4,000 runs behind Sachin. It just goes to show how good Sachin was, but also his longevity in the game," Ponting said.

“But with someone like Virat, you never write him off. If the hunger's still there, then I’m never going to write him off.”