Team India has reached the semi-finals of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. India thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan in match number 5 of the tournament. The Group A contest saw India chase down a target of 242 runs in Dubai with more than 7 overs to spare. This was India’s 2nd successive win in the Champions Trophy. They had opened the campaign with a win against Bangladesh. India have a game in hand as they face New Zealand on March 2. On the other hand, Pakistan have suffered successive defeats in the tournament and are virtually out. If New Zealand beat Bangladesh on Monday, it will be curtains for Mohammad Rizwan’s men.
Batting first, Pakistan huffed and puffed their way to a score of 241/10 in 49.4 overs. Saud Shakeel was his side’s top scorer with a 62-run effort from 76 balls. Mohammad Rizwan scored 46 runs as the duo resurrected Pakistan’s innings and shared a 104-run stand. Khushdil Shah scored 38 runs in the end to help his side get past 240. For India, Kuldeep Yadav claimed a three-wicket haul, racing to 300 international wickets in the process. Hardik Pandya and Harshit Rana bowled well and were tidy, sharing three wickets between them.
In response, India lost skipper Rohit Sharma early with the score reading 31/1. Thereafter, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli added 69 runs for the 2nd wicket. Kohli completed his half-century next of 62 balls as he went on to share a century-plus stand alongside Shreyas Iyer. The two picked up tempo as the partnership progressed. Iyer was out when the score read 214/3. Hardik Pandya perished cheaply. However, Kohli’s 51st hundred helped India seal the deal.
Here, we decode 3 key moments that saw Pakistan lose the tie against India.
Pakistan played a total of 152 dot balls
A major aspect that let the Men in Green down was them playing 152 dot balls. The batters failed to rotate the strike as they would have liked to, and the running between the wickets remained absent. It was a much better start as compared to the game against New Zealand but lack of intent cost Pakistan once again. With boundaries coming rarely, the need of the hour was to find gaps and work on runs. However, this is an element that went missing and cost the side runs. When you play 25.2 overs of dot balls in a 50-over contest, it’s a worry. Pandya led the show with 31 dot balls in his 8 overs. India’s three pacers bowled 85 dot balls between them. Meanwhile, India bowled well as a unit and conceded just 14 fours and three sixes on the other hand.
Losing Rizwan and Shakeel with a bad selection of shots
Shakeel and Rizwan had worked hard for a 104-run stand and looked to get a move on post the 30th over. Pakistan needed the two to carry on and bat further before targeting the last 10 overs. However, the decision-making by the batters cost the side. First, it was Rizwan who went for the charge after getting tempted to smash Axar in the 34th over. He was yorked, and his stumps were castled. If that wasn’t enough, half-centurion Shakeel fell in the 35th over with an unnecessary shot. A short ball by Pandya saw Shakeel pull the ball towards deep mid-wicket before being caught. This was just after he survived when Kuldeep Yadav dropped his catch in the 34th over. Pakistan had another 14-plus overs left, and a set batter decided to throw his wicket away, knowing how valuable he could have been if he stayed longer and looked to form another partnership. This was the biggest turning point.
Kohli was in Pakistan’s way
Indian talisman Kohli was part of two brilliant stands. He studied the situation well and shared a solid 69-run stand with Gill, who played a counter-attacking knock. And then Iyer joined Kohli, and the two played sensibly. They respected Abrar Ahmed and didn’t take any risks. They worked their way with singles and twos when the need of the hour came. This helped them catch up despite facing plenty of dots. The odd boundaries helped. Iyer picked pace as his knock progressed. This was the duo’s 7th century-plus stand in ODIs. It highlighted the understanding and tuning as per the situation. Kohli was in no hurry and played at a decent rate. With Kohli in, Pakistan felt the pressure. His pace post his fifty was stupendous. Kohli, the master of run chases, slammed his 28th century when India bat second. His average reads 64.34, as per ESPNcricinfo.