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It’s slowly turning into a monotonous routine for India. They turn up, produce clinical efforts in all three departments and leave with a comprehensive win. Be it Pakistan or any team in the world, there is very little margin for error against this rampant Indian side.
It was no different on the 23rd of February, Sunday when the world tuned into watch the much-hyped high-octane clash between India and Pakistan. India were at their dominant best while Pakistan continued to disappoint and have almost been knocked out of the Champions Trophy 2025.
Virat Kohli stepped up on the big stage and produced another classy ODI hundred in a run-chase. He found able support from the likes of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer. This was after the Indian bowlers restricted Pakistan to a below-par score.
After opting to bat first, Pakistan had a much better start compared to the first game when they made just 22/2 in the powerplay. Babar Azam struck a few crisp drives on either side of the wicket as Pakistan reached 41/0 in 8.1 overs.
Mohammed Shami didn’t look at his best as he started with five wides in the first over. The premier India pacer was down on pace as well as his first spell was cut short to just three overs before he went off the field. Hardik Pandya was summoned early and the pace-bowling all-rounder struck in his second over, getting rid of Babar who was looking in good touch.
Imam-ul-Haq who replaced Fakhar Zaman in the playing XI got off to a slow start and the pressure was mounting on him. Hence, he pushed for a non-existent single in the 10th over and was runout, courtesy a brilliant direct hit from Axar Patel from mid-on.
Skipper Mohammed Rizwan came out and smashed a slog sweep off his very first delivery and it seemed like Pakistan are willing to show intent as they finished the powerplay at 52/2. Things changed drastically after the powerplay. Pandya was in the middle of an excellent spell while Shami came back with better vemon in his second spell. The Indian spinners then applied the sqeeze as Saud Shakeel and Rizwan got stuck in the middle overs.
Pakistan added a mere 27 runs between overs 10 to 20 with just one boundary coming in this phase. Despite not losing any wickets, Rizwan and Shakeel were happy to bid their time in the middle. The shackles were finally broken in the 25th over when Rizwan swept Jadeja for a boundary. That gave Pakistan some momentum as they went past the 100-run mark in the following over and started accumulating runs at a better rate.
Shakeel raised his fourth ODI fifty in the 31st over and it came off 63 balls. Meanwhile, Rizwan was still going slow and was even dropped when he was on 44. However, it didn’t prove to be costly for India as Axar Patel castled him in the very next over. Pandya accounted for Shakeel in the following over before Jadeja bowled a ripper to get rid of Tayyab Tahir as Pakistan’s momentum was once again stalled. They slipped from 151/2 to 165/5.
Salman Ali Agha and Khushdil Shah stabilised the innings for a bit and shared a 35-run stand before Kuldeep Yadav got the better of the former in the 43rd over. Khushdil struck a few blows but India kept chipping away with wickets and eventually bowled Pakistan out for 242 in the final over. Kuldeep finished with a three-fer while the other bowlers chipped in nicely.
Virat Kohli rises to the occasion with 51st ODI hundred
India’s chase started off in typical fashion with Rohit Sharma going after the bowlers. The Indian captain hit Naseem Shah for a four and a six in the second over to set the tone before Shubman Gill joined him with a couple of boundaries in the following over. Rohit’s knock was cut short by a super inswinging yorker from Shaheen.
However, Rohit’s departure meant Gill took over the responsibility of getting the boundaries in the powerplay. The ODI vice-captain smashed Shaheen for five boundaries across two overs towards the end of the powerplay.
Kohli started off in watchful manner before he got a couple of boundaries off Haris Rauf to get going. Gill was even dropped in between all this as Khushdil shelled a chance at mid-wicket.
Abrar Ahmed’s introduction curbed the Indian batters as the Pakistan mystery spinner bowled in very good areas. He eventually knocked over Gill with a beauty in the 18th over when India’s score read 100. While Abrar probed away and didn’t allow the Indian batters to get away, the duo of Kohli and Shreyas Iyer milked the pacers.
The India No. 3 got to his half-century off 62 balls as Iyer took time to settle in. The latter was on 17 off 33 balls before he hit three fours and a six in the next 10 balls that he faced. He was even dropped at mid-wicket in this phase as Pakistan’s fielding continued to be poor.
At the other end, Kohli motored along nicely, rotating strike and finding the odd boundary. Iyer notched up his 21st ODI half-century and it took him 63 balls to reach the landmark. Just when it looked like he would remain unbeaten till the end, a brilliant catch from Imam at cover brought an end to his innings.
Kohli was on 85 at that stage. Pandya joined him in the middle, and hit a boundary before he was caught-behind. There was a doubt if Kohli would get to his ton but the former India captain eventually reached the three-figure mark with a boundary which also sealed India’s win. It was Kohli’s first hundred in Champions Trophy history (to go with five fifties).
India got past the target with 51 balls to spare as they almost sealed a place in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Pakistan lost their second game on the trot in this tournament which has put them on the brink of being knocked out. They only have a mathematical chance of reaching the top four.
BRIEF SCORES: Pakistan 241 all out (Saud Shakeel 62, Mohammad Rizwan 46, Khushdil Shah 38, Kuldeep Yadav 3/40, Hardik Pandya 2/31) lost to India 244/4 (Virat Kohli 100*, Shreyas Iyer 56, Shubman Gill 46, Shaheen Afridi 2/74, Abrar Ahmed 1/28) by six wickets and 51 balls to spare.
