When Virat Kohli got close to his century against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, India's Axar Patel, who was batting at the other end, tried to focus hard, stay calm and hoped that the 36-year-old did not edge the ball. After all, Patel wanted to make sure the star player reached his milestone.

Axar walked in to bat with India needing 19 runs to win and Kohli unbeaten on 86. In the end, the southpaw turned into a human calculator, crunching numbers and silently praying so that his partner at the other end would reach the milestone of the 82nd hundred.

"At the end, actually main bhi thoda maths kar raha tha unke hundred ke liye (Even I was doing the math for his hundred towards the end). I was hoping that I don't edge the ball or something. So, it was quite fun," Axar said in video posted by ICC.

However, Kohli's path to the three-figure mark became a tricky when Hardik Pandya hit a few boundaries and Shaheen Afridi bowled three wides in the 42nd over. At one point, Axar was even booed for taking a single, as fans wanted Kohli to get maximum strike.

"It was the first time I got to watch a high-pressure game from the dressing room where Virat bhaiya scored a century. I had a lot of fun, and the way he was running between the wickets after fielding for 50 overs is a testament to his fitness," Axar added.

With dominant wins over Bangladesh and Pakistan, India are all but through to the Champions Trophy semifinals.

(With PTI inputs)

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