Rohit Sharma-led side outplays Pakistan in Champions Trophy 2025 encounter, win by 6 wickets
Virat Kohli thrilled the Dubai audience with his 51st ODI tonne, as India defeated Pakistan by six wickets. India easily chased down 242 with 7.3 overs to spare, ensuring their passage to the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals. Pakistan is on the verge of annihilation. Pakistan’s total of 241 proved to be insufficient, with Kohli (100*), Shreyas Iyer (56) and Shubman Gill (46) leading the run chase. Kuldeep Yadav shined with the ball, scoring 3/40. India has not lost an ODI against Pakistan since the 2017 Champions Trophy final, with a record of 6-0 since then.
Pakistan faced India in their fifth match on Sunday. India won the match by six wickets over its opponents. India won for the second time since the tournament began and now leads with a net run rate of +0.647, up from +0.408.
Pakistan’s Champions Trophy season is about to come to an end after losing two straight matches. They were initially defeated by New Zealand in the opening match, and in order to be on the safe side, they will need to put in additional effort and win their final game against Bangladesh on February 27th to advance to the semifinals. The encounter between New Zealand and Bangladesh will also determine their faces. Pakistan is at the bottom of the points table, with an NRR of -1.087.
Pakistan pursued 241/10 in 49.4 overs, while India concluded with 244 runs for four wickets in 42.3 overs. Pakistan chose to bat first, which did not go well as they lost openers Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam in 8.2 and 9.2 overs, respectively. Saud Shakeel was his team’s highest scorer. He scored 62 runs off 76 balls, including five fours, and had a strike rate of 81.58.
Mohammad Rizwan, captain and wicketkeeper, produced 46/77, while Khushdil added 38/39.Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed were both removed for ducks. After Hardik Pandya dismissed Babar Azam, no other player scored more than 20 runs. Babar Azam scored 23 runs off 26 balls. Saud Shakeel and Rizwan forged a partnership for the third wicket, contributing to an unbroken 104 runs off 144 deliveries. Rizwan batted at 46/0, while his adversary batted at 55/0.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav dismissed batsmen such as Salman Agha, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah. During the chase, Kuldeep took the most wickets. He took 3/40 in his nine overs. Only Shami and Ravindra Jadeja’s economic rates above 5.00. Ravindra Jadeja was fortunate to take the final wicket; he allowed 40 runs in 7 overs.
Virat Kohli delivered for his squad, scoring 100 runs off 111 balls, including 7 fours. He also won his sixth Player of the Match award. Many cricket fans believe Virat to be the best player of all time. This was Virat’s 51st ODI century.He also became the quickest person to reach 14,000 runs in a single day in international competition. Shreyas Iyer scored 56 runs off 67 balls, including 5 fours and a six.
Khushdil removed Imam ul Haq at 214/3 as he caught his next ball.Shubman Gill (46/52)’s assistance also helped India win quickly. Captain Rohit Sharma scored 20/15.After the game, Shreyas Iyer uploaded a photo of himself during the game with the remark “A win for the ages”. One of the supporters said, “That half-century was something that all Indians were waiting for.”
Kohli Virat and Shreyas Iyer joined forces and scored 114 runs together. Shreyas batted 56/67, and Kohli 54/61. KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, and Kuldeep Yadav did not bat in the inning. India’s bowler, Shaheen Afridi bowled
Abrar Ahmed bowled 1/28 for 2/74, while Khushdil Shah picked up 1/43.
Rohit Sharma, Indian Captain: “We started superbly with the ball. We knew the wicket could get slower but backed our experienced batters to go out there and get 240. Credit goes to Kuldeep, Axar, Jadeja who all have played a lot. Rizwan and Saud stitched a good stand, was important not to let the game drift. Not to forget how Shami, Hardik, Harshit bowled as well. It was a good performance from the entire unit. The boys understand what kind of job is required out of them. It’s tricky at times because not all will get a bowl. I try to figure out who’s creating the most problems to the batters and make decisions. Virat loves representing the country, doing what he does the best, which is what he did today. People sitting inside the dressing room aren’t surprised with what he did. Hamstring’s okay at the moment.”
Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistani Captain: “We won the toss but didn’t get the benefit. We wanted to get 280 but their bowlers did really well in the middle overs. When Saud and I were batting, we wanted to go deep. But our shot selection was bad and lost wickets, which is why we were kept to 240. Abrar gave us the wicket, but Kohli and Gill took the game far from us. We must improve our fielding. We made a lot of mistakes this match, they’ve repeated, hope to work on them going forward.”
Virat Kohli, Player of the Match: “It feels to be good to bat in that manner in an important game, where a spot for semis was there to be taken, after Rohit fell. My job was clear – to control the middle overs, not take risks against spinners and take on pacers. I was happy with the template, it’s how I play in ODIs. I have a decent understanding of my game. It’s about keeping the outside noise away, take care of my energy levels and thoughts. It’s easy for me to get pulled into expectations and frenzy around games like these. I kept telling myself I’ll give my 100% while fielding. It’s why I take pride in it. When you put your head down and go about your work, things work out. Clarity is important, when there is pace on the ball you have to get scoring. Shubman and Shreyas have been excellent. Everyone’s got a decent knock in these conditions, that’ll augur well in the coming matches. At 36, a week off is very good. It takes a lot out of me to put in that much effort.”
