Kohli guides India to comfortable win over Pakistan

ICC Champions Trophy Group A, Dubai

Pakistan 241 (49.4 overs): Saud 62, Rizwan 46, Kuldeep 3-40

India 244-4 (42.3 overs): Kohli 100* Shreyas 56, Shaheen 2-74

India won by six wickets

India defeated Pakistan by six wickets to move into the Champions Trophy semi-finals, leaving their opponents on the verge of elimination, with Virat Kohli scoring a composed unbeaten century.

Without any strength, intent, or belief in a disciplined attack from India, Pakistan won the toss and batted first, coming up with a rather uninspiring total of 241.

Saud Shakeel and Muhammad Rizwan top scored with 62 and 46 respectively, but they fashioned them off a rather ponderous 76 and 77 balls each.

With a late comeo, Khushdil Shah added 38 off 39 balls, but Pakistan’s total felt modest at a ground with a 258 average first-innings winning score.

Kuldeep Yadav, a spinner, finished with 3-40 as the top bowler overall, while Hardik Pandya, a bowler, recorded a 2-3 record with eight overs.

In the fifth over, India captain Rohit Sharma swung a brutal yorker from left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi into the middle stump, sputtering into Pakistan’s hopes.

However, as soon as India were able to hit the target with his trademark elan on the way to their 51st ODI century, it was a relative cakewalk from that moment.

Shubman Gill was defeated by Abrar Ahmed’s fizzing leg-break, which only prevented the inevitable.

Shreyas Iyer scored a modest 56, but Kohli won the match with a score of 45 balls after scoring 111 off 111 balls with seven fours.

In the process of clinching the victory at the Dubai International Stadium, Kohli, who has always been the showman, gave the crowd a signature moment by reaching three figures.

With only two runs to go in the Indian series and Kohli’s final score at 96, the 36-year-old powerfully shot off Khushdil in extra cover for four to enthralle India fans.

Pakistan are in the bottom of Group A, while India has won two of their opening two group games, winning one and moving up.

A team with the skill to defeat any opponent in their day creates a perpetual narrative around Pakistan due to their mercurial nature.

Maybe, it’s time to dispense with it.

Pakistan’s jack-in-the-box surprise element now feels akin to a cliche from a bygone era. The circus is still in town, but the trapeze artists, tightrope walkers and other eye-catching acts are no more.

The Champions Trophy holders’ first game was a tepid defeat to New Zealand, followed by another disappointing performance in a game that mattered most to them, against their biggest rivals, and which would almost put the rest of their title defense on the table.

Pakistan’s fragile and stodgy top order, once more, was unable to eke out the runs that would present a real challenge to their Indian counterparts.

Rizwan and Saud ensured respectability, with a 104-run stand for the third wicket, but much of Pakistan’s approach with the bat felt like a template for noble defeat.

Haris Rauf, with eight off seven balls, had a strike-rate of 114.28 and was the only player in Pakistan’s batting line-up to score at better than a run a ball. They chewed up 147 dot balls in 49.4 overs.

The pitch played its part, of course. No boundaries were scored on a slow surface from the first ball of the 16th over to the second ball of the 25th.

After being bowled by Axar Patel and caught in the deep off Hardik, Rizwan and Shakeel eventually made an effort to raise the bar, but it ultimately led to their inevitable demise.

In the 2017 Champions Trophy, Pakistan defeated India by a whopping 127 runs in the group stage.

After being beaten by India at the Oval by Fakhar Zaman, who had been ruled out of the tournament because of an injury in the first game, they were declared champions 14 days later.

A repeat seems a distant possibility this year because their hopes are now reliant on an unforeseeable series of outcomes.

With such a small total, India had the luxury of being able to control the pace of their chase, and a bowler who has frequently been the scourge of Pakistan bowlers inevitably had the advantage.

In 17 ODI innings against Pakistan, Kohli has now scored 778 runs at an average of 59.84 with four centuries.

No Indian international player has more than 500 ODI runs against Pakistan on average.

Kohli’s chancesless knock, which included shots around the ground, were rarely without a hit, characterized by quick drives, waspy cuts, and harsh punishment of any kind.

It took Kohli beyond 14, 000 ODI runs in 63 fewer innings than his idol Sachin Tendulkar, who is the leading run-scorer in the format.

Tendulkar’s 18, 426 ODI runs might prove just out of reach for Kohli but he is well within striking distance of Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, who is second on the all-time list with 14, 234.

In addition to his 158th ODI catches, Mohammad Azharuddin leapfrogs him and takes the top spot in the field (156).

The fact that this game was held in the United Arab Emirates, where India will play in all of their tournament matches, is the elephant in the room.

Due to political strife, India and Pakistan have not played together since 2013 and neither have faced off against each other since 2008.

Over the years, I have a good understanding of my game. It’s about avoiding distractions and noise. I had to manage both my thoughts and energy. I find it simple to fall prey to the highs and lows of these games.

India captain Rohit Sharma:” Virat loves representing the country. He wants to play for the team and pursue his passion, which he did today. The dressing room’s residents are not surprised by his actions.

“I believe the bowling unit put a great effort into our initial approach.” To go get those runs, we wanted to back the experience we have in our batting lineup.

Muhammad Rizwan, the captain of Pakistan, said, “We thought 280 was a good score on that pitch, but their bowlers did a lot of it.” Saud Shakeel and I took our time because we wanted to go deep, but then some poor shot selection followed.

In Rawalpindi on Thursday, Pakistan will face Bangladesh in their final group match.

When Bangladesh takes on New Zealand in Rawalpindi, they will aim to advance to the semi-finals.

Bangladesh are attempting to recover from an India defeat, while the Black Caps defeated Pakistan in their opening game.