Champions Trophy Cricket Tournament: India dominates against Pakistan

 

 

Dubai - Star batsman Virat Kohli (100 not out off 111 balls) produced a stellar knock as India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by six wickets in the Champions Trophy on Sunday. With their second consecutive win, India's semi-final spot is almost assured, while Pakistan are on the verge of being eliminated from the tournament. In this much-awaited match held in Dubai, India won by scoring 244 runs for 4 in 42.3 overs after restricting Pakistan to 241 runs. Chasing the challenge, captain Rohit Sharma (20 off 15 balls) made a positive start.

 

However, Shaheen Shah Afridi's excellent yorker left Rohit unanswered. After this, the opening match's centurion Shubman Gill (46 off 52 balls) and Kohli recovered India's innings. Both of them realized that it was difficult to score runs quickly on the slow pitch and field. They kept the scoreboard moving by focusing on one or two runs. The two of them put on a 69-run partnership for the second wicket and took India to a century. Spinner Abrar Ahmed broke this partnership by removing Gill. After this, Shreyas Iyer (56 off 67 balls), who came into the field, provided good support to Kohli.

 

The two of them put on a decisive partnership of 114 runs for the third wicket and took India close to victory. After Shreyas' dismissal, Kohli completed the formalities and led India to victory, not to mention his 51st ODI century. Kohli hit just seven boundaries in his innings. In the hot and humid weather, he dominated the Pakistani bowlers by scoring one or two runs, demonstrating his excellent fitness. Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Babar Azam (23) and Imam-ul-Haq (10) could not do much. Then Saud Shakeel (62 off 76 balls), captain Mohammad Rizwan (46 off 77 balls) and Khushdil Shah (38 off 39 balls) helped Pakistan post a respectable total. However, India's accurate bowling prevented Pakistan from increasing the run rate much.