The Men in Blue made light work of Pakistan in their second match in the Champions Trophy 2025 as they chased down a middling target of 242. Virat Kohli played an instrumental role in India winning the clash against the Men in Green.
The ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 continued with the Indian team taking on Pakistan. Both sides locked horns in game 5 of the tournament at the Dubai International Stadium on February 23. Much to the fans’ delight, it was the Indian team that emerged victorious in the high-octane game.
The game began with Pakistan coming in to bat first after winning the toss. The side opened their innings with Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq coming in to bat first. Both the openers failed to get off to a good start as they departed on scores of 23 and 10 runs, respectively.
After the two early wickets, Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel aimed to stabilise the side’s innings. Both batters played a patient knock and added 46 and 62 runs on the board, respectively. However, after the two performances, none of the other Pakistan batters amounted to much.
India’s bowling attack was exceptional and helped them limit Pakistan to a score of 241 runs. Kuldeep Yadav was the star of the show, taking three wickets to his name. Furthermore, Hardik Pandya stuck twice alongside Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja striking first.
Aiming to chase down a target of 242 runs, the Indian team hoped to get off to a quickfire start. However, skipper Rohit Sharma was sent packing on a score of 20 runs in 15 deliveries. Furthermore, Shubman Gill continued his red hot form adding 46 runs on the board.
However, it was the knock of ace batter Virat Kohli which stole the show. The 36-year-old looked to be in exceptional touch throughout the second innings, and he managed to score his 51st ton in ODI cricket, scoring 100* runs in 111 deliveries. Kohli’s performance helped India chase down the target and win the game by six wickets, and registering their second win of the Champions Trophy 2025.
