ICC Champions Trophy 2025, PAK vs IND: Virat Kohli's century and Shreyas Iyer's 56 guide India past Pakistan's total of 242. With this win, India moves to the top of the points table, while Pakistan drops to the bottom.
Brief Scores: PAK vs IND, Group A, CT 2025: India 244/4 (Virat Kohli 100*, Shreyas Iyer 56, Shaheen Afridi 2/74) beat Pakistan 241 (Saud Shakeel 62, Mohammad Rizwan 46, Kuldeep Yadav 3/40) by 6 wickets.
In what was billed as the "Mother of all cricketing clashes," India faced hosts Pakistan in a Group A fixture of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai. While this was a must-win game for Pakistan following their opening-match loss to New Zealand, India had begun their campaign with a victory over Bangladesh.
India secured their second win of the tournament, defeating Pakistan by six wickets, thanks to a classy century from their chase master, Virat Kohli. This came after a superb bowling display from Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel, who once again restricted Pakistan to a total below 250.
Talking Points: India lack a middle overs strategy
India may have won both their games after restricting their opponents to under 250, but concerns remain as they progress further in the tournament. In both matches, India's bowlers struggled to take wickets during the middle phase (Powerplay 2) despite an impressive start in the first 10 overs.
With stronger batting line-ups ahead, India will need more variety in their bowling attack if they are to win the tournament. Someone like Arshdeep Singh or Varun Chakravarthy could provide the X-factor in the middle overs, adding much-needed depth to their bowling options.
Timely wickets derail Pakistan
Opting to bat first, Pakistan’s ace batter Babar Azam started positively, striking a couple of boundaries to give his team a decent start. However, India's bowlers quickly struck back, dismissing both openers—Babar and Imam-ul-Haq—in quick succession. This slowed the scoring rate, with Pakistan managing only 27 runs in the next phase, though they crucially didn’t lose another wicket.
Skipper Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel then steadied the innings, building a 100-run stand for the third wicket, but it took them 141 balls. Just as they looked set to accelerate, Axar Patel castled Rizwan, and Hardik Pandya removed Shakeel in the very next over, halting Pakistan’s momentum. India's spinners, particularly Kuldeep Yadav, ran through Pakistan’s middle and lower order. Thanks to a crucial late cameo from Khushdil Shah, Pakistan managed to reach 241.
Kohli’s ton headlines India’s dominant win
Chasing a modest target of 242, skipper Rohit Sharma got off to a quick start but was undone by a yorker from Shaheen Afridi in the fifth over. Pakistan would have hoped for a couple of quick wickets, but that didn’t happen as the in-form Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli steadied India’s innings. Gill played a couple of delightful strokes, while Kohli found his rhythm during their 69-run stand for the second wicket, which ended when spinner Abrar Ahmed bowled Gill with a brilliant delivery.
At 100/2, the game was at a crucial juncture, but the pair of Shreyas Iyer and Kohli handled the situation well. They took their time initially, rotating the strike with singles, avoiding unnecessary risks, and picking up the occasional boundary. Both batters reached their respective fifties and put together a 100-run stand in 111 balls. This partnership guided India to a six-wicket win with 45 balls to spare. Read More: CT 2025, IND vs BAN, Grp A: Gill anchors India's chase after Shami fifer restricts Bangladesh to 228
Statistical Highlights from Pakistan vs India, Champions Trophy 2025
Babar Azam was dismissed for the second time by Hardik Pandya in ODIs. He has scored 75 runs off 71 balls from Pandya in this format.
The third wicket stand of 104 runs between Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan is the highest for this wicket for Pakistan against India in ICC events.
Virat Kohli now has the most catches for India in ODI (158). He went past Mohammad Azharuddin who had taken 156 catches during his ODI career.
Hardik Pandya registered his best bowling figures (2-31) against Pakistan in ODIs.
This is only the third instance of Shami going wicketless in an ODI in ICC events.
Virat Kohli becomes the fastest batter to reach 14,000 ODI runs in 287 innings. He is the third player after Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara to cross the landmark.
Virat Kohli now has the most runs (433) for an India batter against Pakistan in ICC ODI events.
The third wicket stand of 114 runs between Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer is the highest for this wicket for India against Pakistan in ICC ODI events.
What’s Next
India are comfortably placed in Group A with two wins from as many games and a net run rate of +0.65. In contrast, Pakistan find themselves in a tight spot, facing the risk of group-stage elimination. They must win their final game against Bangladesh and hope for a couple of favourable results to stay in contention.
Pakistan’s next game is on February 27 in Rawalpindi, while India will take on New Zealand in Dubai on March 2. Read More: Injured & Out: List of top-flight players out of Champions Trophy 2025
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