Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai: Kohli’s century guides India to six-wicket win over Pakistan

Virat Kohli’s century guided India to a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in their Group A match and strengthen their semi-final chances in the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday.

Chasing and under-par target on a slow pitch, Kohli held the innings together, showcasing his mettle against a quality Pakistan attack that was steaming in to make a match of it and keep their hopes alive. But Kohli, who scored his first Twenty20 century in Dubai during the Asia Cup in 2022, sealed India’s win with a four, that took him to his 51st ODI century.

The loss has worsened Pakistan’s chances after losing the opener against New Zealand. Now the defending champions have a slender mathematical chance of advancing past the group stage, depending on the other results.

Pakistan must be hoping that Bangladesh beat New Zealand to keep their hopes alive.

When India batted it seemed like a different wicket. Not much of a pressure and one reason could be due to the fact that Pakistan set a target that is at least 30 runs short. Kohli and Shreyas were milking the bowling at will until Imam Ul Haq pulled off a stunning catch to end Shreyas’ innings for 56, ending their 114-run partnership. After 39 overs, India are 215 for three.

India are cruising to victory. The body language of both teams suggest that there is not much scope for twists and turns. However, the drinks break could help Pakistan to recuperate and bring out some magic.  Shreyas Iyer, two runs away from half-century in ODI, while Kohli is 29 runs away from his 51st ODI century. India need another 53 runs required with eight wickets in hand.

It’s business as usual for Kohli. He will complete the formalities in style unless Pakistan bowlers come up with something special. Shreyas Iyer has started playing his shots, after taking time to settle down on a wicket that has something for the bowlers. Both Kohli and Shreyas have increased the tempo, something that the Pakistan batters failed during the mid-innings. Saud Shakeel dropped a difficult chance off Shreyas, but catches win matches. After 30 overs, India are 160 for two.

Kohli might be short of runs, scoring just one half-century in the last six innings. But the 36-year-old Indian superstar knows when to lift his game. After a lean patch, Kohli scored a match-winning 76 in the final against South Africa in the final of the Twenty20 World Cup in Barbados. Similarly, he is leading India’s chase, showcasing that he still has plenty of game left in him as he crossed his 74th ODI half-century.

Pakistan bowlers Abrar and Haris Rauf have ensured that India’s Kohli and Shreyas Iyer don’t run away and kept them on a tight rein. At the halfway stage India are slightly above and have maintained the advantage by not giving away the wickets.

India are 126 for two, with Kohli on 46 and Shreyas 11, but nothing alarming or cause for worry for the Men in Blue, but Pakistan need wickets to strengthen their chances.

Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed bowled a beauty to baffle Gill and stopped the Indian opener four short of a half-century. Gill has been in brilliant form and has the ability to stay till the end. His wicket has opened the doors for Pakistan to get into the game. Haris Rauf is steaming in and looking dangerous. Still, India are way ahead of the target, but Kohli’s wicket will be the key for Pakistan. After 20 overs, India are 109 for two, needing another 133 in 30 overs.

Virat Kohli joins Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara when he crossed 14,000 runs in One-day Internationals. The star batter has not been at his best, but the cover-driven four brings memories of his past, rising hopes of a century. He came out trumps with the battle with Haris Rauf again after hitting the pacer to two sixes to propel India to victory in the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup opener in Melbourne.

With India’s Twenty20 stars skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, injured Jasprit Bumrah, Telugu cinema megastar and politician Chiranjeevi all present to support the team, Gill was in his elements. His wicket will be the difference for Pakistan’s win and defeat. After showing full face of the bat for two straight drives, Gill closed the face and was lucky to see the leading edge race to the point boundary, giving the fans anxious moments. Once again Khushdil dropped a catch off Gill. After 12 overs India 70 for one with Gill on 36 and Virat Kohli 11.

Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was bowling the yorker length from the start, his aim is to hit the stumps. But the extra pace off the last ball of the fifth over went past skipper Rohit Sharma to give the Green Shirts the much-needed breakthrough and halt India’s march under brighter skies and the lights at the Ring of Fire.

India are 31 for one after five overs, while Pakistan were 25 no loss at the same stage. Rohit played in his own style to go over the infield, but Afridi, watched by his father in law, Shahid Afridi, produced a beauty to go past the Indian skipper’s defence.

Pakistan pacers need to produce something special to defend target and keep hopes alive.

Pakistan coach Aaqib Javed, on the eve of the match on Saturday, was confident that the pace troika of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf will produce something special. The troika, who is hailed as the best since 1990s, will have to come up with the best after finishing with an under-par 241 all out with two balls to spare against India in the Group A match of the Champions Trophy on Sunday.

The packed house expected some fireworks, but Pakistan didn’t get their momentum right through the innings after the exit of openers Babar Azam and Imam Ul Haq, who maintained a five-run average. However, the Indian bowlers tightened the screws and kept Pakistan down with just 27 runs in the overs between 11 and 20.

Mohammed Rizwan and Saud Shakeel were cautious during the period, but one of them should have stayed till the end after getting set, which was not to be and both batters fell in quick succession to leave huge task for Salman Aga and Khushdil  Shah to increase the run-rate.

Khushdil played his heart out with a battling 38 to be dismissed last, but he ran out of partners and couldn’t do much in the end.

For India, Kuldeep Yadav claimed three wickets, but Hardik Pandya stole the show with a tight spell to give the early breakthrough and used the surface to the best by bowling cutters and taking the pace off the ball.

Now with a target of 242, India should be fancying their chances to overhaul the target. However, Pakistan will go all out as another loss will almost end their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals in the eight-team showpiece.

Pakistan’s innings is crumbling. After a cautious approach, where they scored just 27 runs between overs 11-20 with just one boundary, lost wickets five wickets in 10 overs. After the exit of Rizwan and Shakeel, Salman Aga and Khushdil Shah resurrected the innings, but Kuldeep Yadav’s twin strike in two balls have left Pakistan reeling at 200 for seven with just seven overs to go.

The wicket is not having any demons and any score under 250 will require a huge effort from the Pakistan bowlers. Now Kushdil, who scored the lone six in this innings so far, has to play till the end.

India dropped two catches but both Rizwan and Saud Shakeel didn’t make the Men in Blue pay dearly. Harshit Rana dropped the Pakistan skipper off Pandya when on 44, but Rizwan was bowled off the next ball he faced to Axar Patel. Similarly, Kuldeep Yadav was late to react to Shakeel's catch off Axar, but Pandya dismissed him in the next over. Pandya, who has been bowling cutters at a slower pace, positioned Axar perfectly to end the stubborn knock of Shakeel. After 35 overs, Pakistan are 160 for 4, desperately seeking the momentum to finish the innings on a high.

A few fours have upped the run-rate after Pakistan batters have shifted gears. Still, Saud Shakeel and Mohammed Rizwan are still cautious and not taking undue risks. Saud completed a deserving half-century off 63 balls while Rizwan is batting on 41 off 71 deliveries. The urgency is visible and may be now the Green Shirts will play a Twenty20 game. After 31 overs, Pakistan are 137 for two and the spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who is bowling at a much faster pace, is the most expensive after conceding 31 runs in his five overs.

Pakistan batters need to come out of their shell and should start pushing the scoreboard. Only two boundaries have been scored since the 15th over, one in the 16th and the second in the 25th. The run-rate has dropped to under four. But the wicket seems to be a shade tacky as the older ball is not coming on the bat as nicely as when it had shine. In the context a 250 might be enough to put India under pressure. Maybe, the plan is to play a Twenty20 after the 30 over. Let’s wait and watch. After 25 overs, 99 for two.

Long line of cars lined up as fans are still trying to reach the stadium, 90 minutes after the first ball was bowled

It’s time for consolidation for Pakistan and not taking any risks. Skipper Mohammed Rizwan and Saud Shakeel are ensuring that there are no more wickets. But during this time, Hardik Pandya and Shami have kept things tight by not giving any boundaries in the last five overs. Pakistan after 15 overs are 63 for two.

Two wickets in two overs have pushed Pakistan on the backfoot. Hardik Pandya, who did five pushups before he began to bowl, set up the dangerous-looking Babar Azam into a false stroke. Azam is the best player of cover drive in today’s world and after giving a long hop that was driven for a boundary, Pandya pulled the length back and Azam fell into the trap to edge to keeper Rahul. However, Imam Ul Haq went for a non-existent run only to be beaten by a direct throw from Axar Patel. After 10 overs, Pakistan are in trouble at 52 for two. While the good news for India is, Shami is back on the field.

Mohammed Shami didn’t have the best start. After bowling five wides in the first over, the pacer required attention to his troubled knee during the fifth over goes off the field after completing his third over. After initial euphoria that is associated with any India-Pakistan match, teams are looking more composed and slowly the action is building up. Babar Azam seemed to have found his silken touch, scoring two boundaries. On a perfect batting pitch, that has some carry to the bowlers, Pakistan have moved to 25 for no loss after five overs, may be a touch slow in run-rate during the powerplay overs, but nevertheless they have the wickets in hand.

Indian pacer Mohammed Shami warming up as he will begin the proceedings before both teams assemble for the national anthems. Loud cheers reverberated the stadium when national flags of India and Pakistan unfurled. Injured pacer Jasprit Bumrah is with the team to lend his support for Team India.

Fans arrive for India and Pakistan Champions Trophy match at Dubai International stadium on Sunday.

Pakistan won the important toss in a must-win match the as the dew factor could play a big role in the second innings.

Pakistan’s Imam ul Haq comes in place of the injured opener Fakhar Zaman while India retained the same team that beat Bangladesh in the opener on Wednesday.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Muhammad Tayyab Tahir, Muhammad Salman Ali, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.

Alize Sarwar from Karachi in Pakistan and Mumbai's Sid Chaudhary have been friends for a long time. They listen to Bolloywood music on their way to the stadium to watch India and Pakistan play. While they have many common interests, they differ in one thing. The result of the Champions Trophy showdown between India and Pakistan. Both Alize and Sid are rooting for their respective teams and they want to go home happy with the right result. Now fans wait for the toss between the two captains.