Dubai (UAE), February 23: Indian cricket stalwart Virat Kohli made history on Sunday during the India-Pakistan clash in the ongoing Champions Trophy in Dubai by surpassing Mohammad Azharuddin’s record of 156 catches to become the Indian fielder with the most catches in ODIs.
Kohli reached this remarkable milestone during the 47th over when he took a challenging low catch to dismiss Pakistan’s Naseem Shah off Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling. This was his 157th catch in ODIs, and he extended the record to 158 after taking another catch in the final over of the match. With this achievement, Kohli moved ahead of Azharuddin, who previously held the record with 156 catches.
At the time, Pakistan was struggling at 222/7, and Naseem Shah attempted to hit a big shot off Kuldeep Yadav’s delivery. He miscued the ball, and Kohli, displaying remarkable composure, took the low catch to secure the record. Later, in the final over, Kohli picked up his second catch of the match when he took a catch at deep mid-wicket to dismiss Khushdil Shah off Harshit Rana’s bowling.
With this feat, Kohli solidified his position as one of the greatest fielders in Indian cricket history. He is now followed by Azharuddin (156 catches), Sachin Tendulkar (140 catches), Rahul Dravid (124 catches), and Suresh Raina (102 catches) on the list of Indian fielders with the most catches in ODIs.
On the global stage, Kohli’s 158 catches place him third in the list of outfield catches in ODIs, behind only Mahela Jayawardene (218 catches) and Ricky Ponting (160 catches).
Kohli’s exceptional fielding performance played a crucial role in India’s clinical display as they restricted Pakistan to a modest total of 241 runs. Pakistan’s innings saw valuable contributions from Saud Shakeel (62 off 76), Mohammad Rizwan (46 off 77), and Khushdil Shah (38 off 39).
India now looks to build on this momentum as they chase the target in the second innings of the match.