Virat Kohli’s 51st Century Guides India to Victory Over Pakistan in ICC Champions Trophy 2025

February 24, Dubai: Virat Kohli’s magnificent 51st century and solid bowling performances helped India secure a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Group A clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

After India lost the toss for the 12th consecutive time in ODI cricket, marking a historic streak, Pakistan opted to bat first. Despite a decent start, the Pakistani batting lineup struggled to build significant partnerships. India’s bowlers, led by Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya, made crucial breakthroughs at regular intervals, limiting Pakistan to 241 runs in 49.4 overs.

Pakistan’s innings began positively with captain Babar Azam looking fluent during his knock of 23. However, Hardik Pandya dismissed him early in the ninth over, and Pakistan’s progress slowed. Imam-ul-Haq was run out for 9 by Axar Patel’s sharp throw, leaving Pakistan at 47/2. Mohammad Rizwan (46 off 77 balls) and Saud Shakeel (62 off 76 balls) shared a 104-run partnership to revive Pakistan’s innings. But the middle order crumbled, as India took three wickets in the next four overs, reducing Pakistan to 167/5. Khushdil Shah contributed with 38 off 39 balls but was the last man out, as Pakistan’s innings folded for 241 runs. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with 3/43, supported by Hardik Pandya’s 2/31.

Chasing 242, India got off to a solid start. Rohit Sharma’s 20 off 15 balls helped the team maintain a brisk run rate. However, he was dismissed by Shaheen Afridi in the sixth over. Shubman Gill took over, scoring 46 off 52 balls before being bowled by Abrar Ahmed in the 18th over. The chase was further anchored by Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, who shared a crucial 114-run partnership. Iyer made 56 off 67 balls, but he and Pandya were dismissed late in the innings, bringing India closer to victory. Kohli, however, remained unbeaten, finishing with 100* off 111 balls to guide India to 244/4 in 42.3 overs. With the winning boundary, Kohli also brought up his 82nd century across formats and became the fastest batter to reach 14,000 ODI runs, surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record by 63 innings.

India’s victory, with Kohli’s stellar century and the bowlers’ disciplined efforts, lifted them to the top of the Group A table with four points and a net run rate of 0.647. Pakistan, on the other hand, will look to bounce back in their next match. India will next face New Zealand, who are currently second in the group, in their next Champions Trophy clash next Sunday.

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