"You have to admire sometimes the skill of the opposition" - When Virat Kohli graciously accepted India's defeat in the Champions Trophy 2017 final

Virat Kohli had a terrific run as Team India captain across formats. He led India in 213 matches in international cricket, winning 135 and losing 60. Further, three matches were tied, 11 ended in a draw, while four games produced a no-result. While MS Dhoni (178) has won more games than Kohli as captain, the latter has a better win percentage of 63.38 as compared to Dhoni's 53.61.

Under Kohli's tenure as captain, though, India failed to win an ICC trophy in any format, although they came close on a few occasions. The Men in Blue finished semifinalists in the 2019 World Cup after dominating the league stage. They also finished runners-up in the 2021 World Test Championship (WTC) final, going down to an inspired New Zealand outfit.

Earlier, Kohli-led India put up a superb display in the 2017 Champions Trophy. They were favorites heading to the final against arch-rivals Pakistan. However, chasing a huge target of 339, they folded up for 158, going down by 180 runs at The Oval. Despite the massive disappointment, Kohli was gracious in defeat and conceded that Pakistan were the better side in the summit clash.

"I want to congratulate Pakistan, they had an amazing tournament, the way they turned things around, speak volumes for the talent they have. They proved it again, they can upset anyone on their day, disappointing for us but I have a smile on my face because we played well to reach the final," Kohli said (via NDTV) at the press conference following India's defeat in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.

Reflecting on India's performance as a whole in the ICC event, he asserted:

"We can (still) be very proud ... and we leave here with our heads held high. Credit to everyone for standing up and showing that resilience and reaching the finals -- (but) we were outplayed in all departments. In the end, you have to accept and admire sometimes the skill of the opposition."

India decided to field first after winning the toss in the Champions Trophy final, a move which backfired. Pakistan ended up posting 338-4 as Fakhar Zaman smashed 114 off 106. In the chase, Hardik Pandya (76 off 43) was the only Indian batter to offer some resistance.

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Virat Kohli had an impressive Champions Trophy 2017 campaign

While India faltered at the final hurdle in their Champions Trophy 2017 campaign, Kohli had an impressive tournament with the bat. He scored 258 runs in five innings (three not outs) at an average of 129 and a strike rate of 98.85, with the aid of three half-centuries.

Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma finished as the top two leading run-getters in the event. Dhawan scored 338 runs at an average of 67.60 and a strike rate of 101.80. Rohit hit 304 runs, averaging 76 at a strike rate of 86.85.