Dubai, February 24(HS): India has taken a strong step towards the semi-finals by defeating Pakistan by 6 wickets in an important match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on Sunday. In this match played at the Dubai International Stadium, the Indian team performed brilliantly and achieved the target of 242 runs given by Pakistan in 42.3 overs at the loss of 4 wickets. With this win, India has reached the top position in the points table in Group A, while Pakistan is almost out of the tournament.

India’s star batsman Virat Kohli, who was the man of the match, scored an unbeaten 100 off 111 balls to give the team a brilliant victory. Chasing the target, Rohit Sharma (20), Shubman Gill (46) and Shreyas Iyer (56) also played useful innings. The 114-run partnership between Kohli and Iyer laid the foundation for the victory.

Earlier, the Pakistani team, which came out to bat, did not get a solid start. Saud Shakeel (62) and Mohammad Rizwan (46) added 104 runs for the third wicket, but other batsmen could not contribute much. Babar Azam (23), Khushdil Shah (38) and Salman Agha (19) struggled, but the Indian bowlers gave continuous blows and prevented Pakistan from scoring big.

At the same time, the Indian team also showed strength in bowling. Kuldeep Yadav took 3 wickets, Hardik Pandya took 2 wickets, while Harshit Rana and Akshar Patel took 1-1 wickets. Apart from his bowling, Akshar also made 2 run outs.

The match wasn’t just about victory; it was a milestone moment for Kohli, who shattered records by becoming the fastest batter ever to reach 14,000 ODI runs—and fittingly, he did it against Pakistan on a memorable Sunday.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar