Kohli and Iyer Star in India’s Victory : Champions Trophy: Kohli and Iyer Lead India to Semifinals with Dominant Victory Over Pakistan

Dubai. Feb 23 (NationPress) Virat Kohli’s exceptional unbeaten century led India to a dominant six-wicket triumph over Pakistan in their Group A match at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. This victory ensured that India became the first team to clinch a semi-final berth in the 2025 Champions Trophy.

In pursuit of 242 runs, Shreyas Iyer contributed a composed yet impactful 56, forming a vital partnership with Kohli to steer India to victory in 42.3 overs. With two consecutive losses, Pakistan finds itself on the verge of elimination from the tournament, and a win for New Zealand against Bangladesh on Monday would seal Pakistan’s fate.

During the first innings, Kuldeep Yadav showcased an outstanding performance towards the end, taking 3 wickets for 40 runs, while Hardik Pandya excelled with figures of 2 for 31. A remarkable all-round bowling effort from India restricted Pakistan to 241 all out in 49.4 overs.

On a sluggish pitch, Pakistan's batsmen managed to get starts but struggled to accelerate their scoring. The only significant partnership came from a 104-run stand between Saud Shakeel (62) and Mohammad Rizwan (46), but it was at a lethargic pace. From a solid position of 151-2, Pakistan collapsed to 241 all out, missing an opportunity for a larger total.

In addition to Kuldeep and Hardik, Harshit Rana, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel each took a wicket, as India consistently claimed wickets, including in the middle overs, for the first time in the tournament, despite giving away 17 extras.

Hardik made the initial breakthrough for India, pulling his length back to bowl outside off-stump, compelling Babar Azam to edge the ball to KL Rahul, who made a swift low catch.

Imam-ul-Haq, in his first ODI since the 2023 World Cup, struggled for form and was run out for 10 off 26 balls, with Axar Patel's direct hit from mid-on leaving him well short of the crease despite a desperate dive.

Mohammed Shami returned to the attack with renewed vigor, as India tightened its grip on Pakistan, allowing only one boundary between the 11th and 20th overs while restricting them to a mere 27 runs in that period. With the pitch offering grip, India maintained pressure on Rizwan and Shakeel.

However, at the halfway point, Pakistan began to pick up the pace. Rizwan swept Jadeja for a boundary through square leg, while Shakeel executed reverse-sweeps and conventional sweeps against Kuldeep to score boundaries. Shakeel reached his fourth ODI fifty in 69 balls, while both batsmen found the boundary against Jadeja again.

As Pakistan escalated their scoring, India sought to break the partnership but missed several opportunities. Shakeel survived a missed direct hit, and Rana dropped a challenging running catch at mid-wicket, giving Rizwan a reprieve on 44. Nonetheless, Axar Patel ensured Rizwan did not capitalize, clean-bowling him for 46.

India could have dismissed Shakeel in the same over, but Kuldeep dropped a catch at wide long-on. Fortunately, Hardik dismissed Shakeel shortly thereafter, deceiving him with a slower short ball that he pulled to deep mid-wicket.

Pakistan's troubles intensified when Tayyab Tahir was bowled by Jadeja, leading to three wickets falling for just 11 runs between the 34th and 37th overs.

The decline continued as Kuldeep Yadav took charge, dismissing Salman Ali Agha at cover point, trapping Shaheen Shah Afridi lbw with a googly, and getting Naseem Shah caught at long-on. Khushdil Shah and Haris Rauf hit a six each off Shami, but their efforts were short-lived as both fell quickly, leaving Pakistan with a disappointing total of 241 on a pitch that was expected to slow down as the game progressed.

Brief Scores: Pakistan 241 all out in 49.4 overs (Saud Shakeel 62, Mohammad Rizwan 46; Kuldeep Yadav 3-40, Hardik Pandya 2-31) lost to India 244/4 in 42.3 overs (Virat Kohli 100 not out, Shreyas Iyer 56; Shaheen Afridi 2-74, Abrar Ahmed 1-28) by six wickets.