India Restricts Pakistan to 241 in Champions Trophy 2025 Group A Encounter

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The Indian cricket team's bowlers put in a strong performance to restrict Pakistan to 241 in the crucial Group A encounter of the Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Saud Shakeel scored 62 and shared a 104-run partnership with Mohammad Rizwan, but Pakistan lost wickets in clumps on either side of that partnership. The defending champions won a crucial toss on another slow and challenging surface at the venue but weren't allowed to maximise their advantage by India's crafty bowlers, notably Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav.

After a slow start, India's new-ball bowlers found swing and therefore bowled fuller in the early exchanges with the under-fire Babar Azam, in particular, enjoying himself with boundaries on the drive. However, an injury scare for the just-returned Mohammed Shami forced Rohit's hand into bringing Hardik Pandya early into the attack, and the all-rounder proved his worth by quickly settling in on a back-of-a-length and completely changing the tempo of the game. Pakistan lost Babar when he attempted an ambitious drive against Hardik to a ball that wasn't all that full and edged it to the 'keeper.

Pakistan still had 52 runs in the PowerPlay, but India's recalibrated lengths brought scoring to a near-screeching halt. The next 10 overs saw Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel manage just 27 runs as the two batters kept finding the fielders in the ring while trying to force the pace against off-paced deliveries. The dot balls-count piled up to 95 by the 25th over before the pair finally attempted to break free. The attack eventually came when India had two spinners - Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja - operating in tandem. Rizwan swept Jadeja for a four before Shakeel swept and reverse-swept Kuldeep in the following over for boundaries. The partnership slowly but steadily swelled past the 100-run mark, and Shakeel completed a solid, 63-ball half-century.

The match scores were as follows:

• Pakistan 241 in 49.4 overs (Saud Shakeel 62, Mohammad Rizwan 46; Kuldeep Yadav 3-40, Hardik Pandya 2-31)
• India's bowling statistics:
  • Kuldeep Yadav: 3-40
  • Hardik Pandya: 2-31

But just when it was time to press on the accelerator, Pakistan were set back by the dismissal of both the set batters. Rizwan survived when Harshit Rana put down a tight chance off Hardik, but India's drought with middle-overs wickets ended in the very next over as the Pakistan captain charged at Axar and yorked himself to get bowled. Axar could have had Shakeel too in the same over but Kuldeep put down a tough chance running in from long-on.

From 151/2, Pakistan suddenly lost 3 for 14 as Jadeja spun one past Tayyab Tahir's defences. But Khushdil Shah and Salman Ali Agha managed to stem the rot with a calculated 35-run partnership. Again, having reached 200, when Pakistan were ready to kick on, Kuldeep produced a double-wicket 43rd over. First, Agha fell trying to swipe across the line but managed only a leading edge to point. Off the very next ball, Kuldeep trapped Shaheen Afridi in front of the stumps with a googly. Khusdil though carried on and found two useful sixes in his knock of 38 off 39 before he was the last man dismissed in the final over of the innings. Given the nature of the pitch, Pakistan will believe this can be defended against a strong Indian line-up that was pushed close by Bangladesh in a chase of 228 three days ago.