Champions Trophy 2025: Team India’s ace batter Virat Kohli once again proved his dominance against the arch-rivals Pakistan by returning to red-hot form with his 51st ODI century in the Group A fixtures of the Champions Trophy 2025.
The 36-year-old led the batting unit from the front in a 242-run chase at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on February 23 (Sunday). The veteran batter proved to the world why his tag of being the chase master of the limited overs format is still a reality.
Kohli’s maiden ton in the Champions Trophy not only propelled his team to a stunning victory by 6 wickets (with 45 balls to spare) but also shattered Pakistan’s hopes of defending their title, having slim chances of qualifying into the knockouts.
With two consecutive wins against Bangladesh and Pakistan, India’s +0.647 net run rate (NRR) makes them currently rank as table toppers of the Group A points table by collecting 4 points. The men-in-blue are one step away from making it through the semi-finals. On the other side, Mohammad Rizwan’s led Pakistan team is at risk of facing an early elimination after losing back-to-back games in the tournament.
Let’s delve into Pakistan’s five major blunders that contributed to India’s dominating victory in their second match of the ninth season.
1. Pakistan Batting First on a Slow Pitch: Indian Bowlers’ Dominance
Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan’s decision to bat first after winning the toss resulted in his team succumbing to a 241-run total on a slow pitch in Dubai.
Despite Saud Shakeel’s reliable performance of 62 runs from 76 balls (including 5 fours) and Khushdil Shah’s 38 runs from 39 balls (including 2 sixes), the effective bowling figures from these bowlers tamed Pakistan’s innings to a modest total:
- Kuldeep Yadav: 3/40 in 9 overs.
- Hardik Pandya: 2/31 in 8 overs.
- Axar Patel: 1/49 in 10 overs.
- Ravindra Jadeja: 1/40 in 7 overs.
- Harshit Rana: 1/30 in 7.4 overs.
2. Mohammad Rizwan’s Slow Knock
Rizwan’s inability to keep the scoreboard ticking against a competitive team like India in a big tournament showed his lack of intent to score runs instantly. The captain’s 77-ball-46-run knock that included 3 fours at a strike rate of 59.74 pointed out his overly defensive approach in a pressurized situation.
Although the 32-year-old joined Saud Shakeel in the 10th over and maintained a 104-run partnership, the duo batters struggled to maintain the flow of runs. There were certain instances where Pakistan couldn’t score boundaries for several overs.
Even after the best efforts from Rizwan and Saud to accelerate the innings after the 25th over, various fans and cricket experts were unable to understand the strategy for their highly cautious strategy, despite 8 wickets remaining in hand.
3. Pakistan Batters Playing Too Many Dot Balls
It would be shocking to know that the men-in-green played 80 dot balls in the starting 20 overs of their innings. Moreover, the defending champions played an overall 152 dot balls, which shows the batters’ failure to rotate the strike. The entire batting managed to strike just 14 fours and a six out of 49.4 overs played.
4. Important Catches Dropped by Pakistani Fielders
Khushdil Shah dropped Shubman Gill’s simple catches twice when he was on 35. As a result, the opening batter went on to stretch a 69-run partnership with Virat Kohli and scored a 52-ball-46-run knock (including 7 fours).
Similarly, Saud Shakeel dropped Shreyas Iyer’s catch when he was on 25 in the final ball of the 30th over. Consequently, the middle-order batter continued to maintain a 114-run partnership with Kohli and contributed a supportive knock of 56 runs from 67 balls (including 5 fours and a six).
5. Vintage Kohli’s Masterclass Show in a Crucial Run Chase: Too Tough for Pakistan to Handle
Ultimately, Virat Kohli showed his classic style of playing cricket with his unbeaten 100 runs from 111 balls (including 7 fours) at a strike rate of 90.09. The right-handed batter finished the match in style with a boundary and recorded his 82nd international century across all formats.
Interestingly, the former Indian captain became the first batter to register a ton against Pakistan in key events like the ICC Champions Trophy, Asia Cup, and ICC ODI World Cup. Also, this was his 6th ton in ICC tournaments since his debut into the white ball format in 2008.
Has India Qualified for ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Semifinals After Defeating Pakistan? Conclusive Facts
Even after a one-sided domination against Pakistan, India hasn’t yet qualified for the semifinals of the Champions Trophy 2025.
With a week’s gap left for preparation, Rohit Sharma and his men have to secure another victory against New Zealand to enter the knockouts without having to depend on other teams’ results.
However, the outcome of the upcoming match between New Zealand and Bangladesh on February 24 (Monday) would decide the fate of Group A’s teams based on these two possible scenarios:
- New Zealand beat Bangladesh: Pakistan and Bangladesh will certainly face an early exit, which results in India and New Zealand advancing to the knockouts without waiting for the outcome of their next clash on March 02 (Sunday).
- Bangladesh beat New Zealand by a huge margin: Pakistan and Bangladesh would stay alive in the race to qualify for the playoffs. But, the hosts need to win their last match of group stages against Bangladesh on February 27 (Thursday). In addition, the 2017 champions should hope for New Zealand to lose against India to secure a spot in the last four.
Overall, it is understood that India has a higher chance of making it into the semi-finals. The 2013 edition’s champions are unlikely to face an exit unless they lose their next game to New Zealand by a huge margin (only if Bangladesh secures a massive win against New Zealand in the forthcoming game).