Virat Kohli 'Sad To See Very Good Friend' On The Losing Side: 'Nothing But Love Between Us'
Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson share a warm relationship, and the Indian batting superstar didn't forget "his good friend" while celebrating India's Champions Trophy win.
Virat Kohli won his fifth ICC title as India cricketer after India defeated New Zealand in the final of the Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai on Sunday. While celebrating the title win, Kohli didn’t forget to remember “really good friend" Kane Williamson who was on the losing side.
Both Kohli and Williamson have been part of several classic India-New Zealand matches in ICC events.
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At the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal, ICC World Test Championship final in 2021 and group stage of 2021 T20 World Cup, Kohli was part of the Indian teams that lost to New Zealand.
However, at the 2023 ODI World Cup, India defeated New Zealand twice – once during the league stage and then in the semifinals before getting the better of them in the 2025 Champions Trophy final.
“Sad to see a very good friend of mine on the losing side but I’ve been on the losing side a couple of times when he’s been on the winning side. Only love between us," Kohli told the broadcasters.
Kohli also paid rich tributes to New Zealand for their superlative show in ICC events and how he has been in awe of them managing to punch above their weights despite limited resources.
“Amazing, we’ve always been in awe of what they (New Zealand) can do with the limited number of players they’ve had over the years and just maximise their talent to the absolute maximum," Kohli said. “Every time you played against them in big games, you know they’re going ton with a set plan. No other team executes their plans as well as they do. Every fielder knows exactly where the bowler is going to bowl and you can sense it when they attack the ball, the bowler is going to be so accurate, and they know."
New Zealand defeated South Africa in the semifinal and their only group-stage defeat came against India.
“Credit to them, they’ve probably been the most consistent team over the last few years in big tournaments and the reason for that is their immense belief in their skills and the amount of talent that they have to utilise it to the maximum. They’re easily the best fielding side in the world. Huge shoutout to them, they continue to display why they are one of the top teams in the world, again a great campaign," Kohli said.
For more in-depth coverage of the Champions Trophy, check out the latest Points Table to see where your favorite team stands. Stay updated on the tournament’s top performers with the Most Runs and Most Wickets leaderboards. Keep following for all the latest updates!
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