The India vs. Pakistan game is done and dusted, and Team India dominated throughout, winning by 6 wickets in the end. With that win, Team India is almost through to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal, with only official confirmation yet to be done.
Today, we will review the India vs Pakistan game, and see what went wrong for Pakistan in the game. We will also discuss the talking points from the game, the positives for Team India, and much more. So let’s begin.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025: India vs Pakistan (Texted Highlights)
Pakistan Won the Toss and Batted First
Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. Considering the pitch and the conditions, it was a good move as we have generally seen the Dubai pitch will get slower as the game progresses and the shot-making becomes difficult.
Pakistan had a decent start, with Babar Azam looking in good touch. He played a few eye-pleasing shots, but his inning was cut short by Hardik Pandya, who got Babar out caught behind in the 9th over.
In the next over, Imam ul Haq also got run out and suddenly Pakistan found themselves in trouble.
Rizwan and Shakeel Consolidates Pakistan
Captain Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel steadied the ship for Pakistan. The duo stitched a 104-run partnership for the 3rd wicket. Shakeel was the main aggressor in the partnership with Rizwan taking some time.
But that was the only partnership Pakistan had in this game. They continue to lose wickets at regular intervals. Thanks to Khushdil Shah’s 38-run cameo Pakistan has managed to go past 240.
All the Indian bowlers bowled well with Kuldeep Yadav being the pick of the bowlers. The left-arm wrist spinner took 3 wickets in his 9 overs.
You can check the India vs Pakistan match scoreboard HERE
Virat Kohli’s Hundred Allows Team India to Get Over the Line
When Team India came out to chase the target, Rohit Sharma came with a positive intent. He played a few shots to Naseem and Shaheen, but the latter got the batter of him with his in-swinging yorker.
Shubman Gill continued his good form and Virat Kohli joined him at the crease. The pair was busy at the crease, milking singles and doubles with odd boundaries here and there.
Shubman got the peach of a delivery from Abrar and the pair added 69 runs for the 2nd wicket.
Virat and Iyer’s partnership makes sure India gets home easily
Virat Kohli continued to be busy at the crease and Shreyas Iyer took his time before charging the Pakistani bowlers. Iyer took on the spinners and in between, Virat Kohli came close to his another ODI hundred.
Virat eventually completed his hundred and Team India won the game by 6 wickets.
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India almost through to the CT 2025 semifinal
With this win, Team India’s qualification in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal is almost certain.
How Team India can still be out of the tournament? (UNLIKELY TO HAPPEN)
The worst case scenario for Team India is if they lost a game against New Zealand by a huge margin and Bangladesh won both their remaining games by a huge margin, India could be out of the tournament. In that case, New Zealand and Bangladesh will qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal.
The above-discussed scenario is unlikely to happen as Team India is a strong unit. Also, Bangladesh winning both games, and that too by a huge margin is also a tough thing to happen. India is almost through to the semifinal.
RECORD ALERT: Virat Kohli made quite a few records in this game
Becomes the Fastest Player to Reach 14,000 ODI Runs
Virat Kohli becomes the fastest player to reach 14,000 ODI runs. He only took 287 innings to reach the milestone. Also, he is only the 3rd player to complete 14,000 ODI runs after Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.
Sachin took 350 while Sangakkara took 378 innings to complete 14,000 ODI runs.
Most Man of the Match for a Player against a Single Opponent (In ICC Tournaments)
Virat Kohli becomes the Man of the Match for his magnificent hundred. Now, he has won 5 Player of the Match awards against Pakistan in the ICC tournaments. It is the most by an individual against a single opponent in ICC tournaments.
3-3 in India vs Pakistan CT Head-to-Head
Before this game, Pakistan has won 3 games against India while India has managed to win 2 games against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. With this win, it’s 3-3 now in India vs Pakistan Head-to-Head in the Champions Trophy.
India vs Pakistan CT 2025: Talking Points
Positives for Team India
- Although Virat Kohli has scored a fifty against England in an ODI, this hundred gives a lot of confidence to him and Team India going ahead in the tournament.
- Kuldeep Yadav responded well after a slightly off game against Bangladesh.
What went wrong for Pakistan?
- Pakistan batters failed to make partnerships other than Rizwan-Shakeel. They lacked the intent in their inning that led to a small total in the first inning.
- Pakistan’s new ball bowlers failed to create enough pressure on the Indian openers. They needed some early breakthrough to make a game out of this situation.
- Pakistan went with only one frontline spinner on a wicket that was dry and slow. They do have aa few part-time spinners in the team, but a proper wicket-taking bowler is something a team needs in the middle overs.
Conclusion
So this is a review of the India vs Pakistan game that has happened in Dubai. What’s next for Team India? They will look to finish the Group Stage on a high note against New Zealand and want to go into the semifinal with a win under their belt.
As far as Pakistan is concerned, it is now a fight for pride. They will look to finish the Group Stage on a high note against Bangladesh and will hope to get some of the other results in their favor.
What do you think? Which four teams will qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal? Comment your prediction below.
Thank you for reading. Keep following us for the latest updates.
FAQs:-
(1) Can Pakistan still qualify for the CT 2025 semifinal?
Mathematically it is still possible. But it is highly unlikely that now Pakistan will reach the CT 2025 semifinal.
PAK’s qualification scenario:-
The only case for PAK is if they win against Bangladesh by a huge margin, and hope that Bangladesh wins against New Zealand by a huge margin, and then New Zealand wins against India by a small margin, in that case, all three teams (Pakistan, New Zealand, and Bangladesh) will finish with 2 points in the Group Stage. If Pakistan’s Net Run Rate gets better than New Zealand’s, then India and Pakistan will qualify for the semifinal.
It is highly unlikely to happen.
(2) Which team is No. 1 at the moment in Group B of the CT 2025 points table?
South Africa, with a huge win against Afghanistan, is leading the Chart in Group B.
