Indian cricketing legend Virat Kohli added another feather to his cap during the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal against Australia at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Kohli set a new record for the most catches by an Indian fielder in international cricket, surpassing Rahul Dravid’s tally of 334 catches across all formats.
Kohli’s Record-Breaking Catch
The turning point came in the 27th over when Josh Inglis tried to hit Ravindra Jadeja’s delivery to play but ended up hitting the ball directly into Kohli at cover. With this easy yet record-breaking catch, Kohli broke Dravid’s long-reigning record, the most international centuries, in his 549th international game.
Kohli went on to make history by shattering Ricky Ponting’s record for the most catches taken by a fielder in One Day Internationals (ODIs). He reached Ponting’s total of 160 catches with his catch of Inglis, before overtaking him in the 49th over, when he caught an easy one off Nathan Ellis at long-on.
India’s Bowling Effort
Australia, who decided to bat first, managed 264 runs, courtesy of Steve Smith (73) and Alex Carey (61). Mohammed Shami, however, led the charge in India’s bowling attack with 3/48. Support came from Varun Chakravarthy (2/49) and Jadeja (2/40), while Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya added one each.
With Kohli now second all-time in the list of most ODI catches (161) behind Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene (218), his fielding continues to reinforce India’s hold on the field.
