Champions Trophy: India restrict Pakistan to 241 in Dubai
What's the story
India restricted Pakistan to 241 in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy encounter in Dubai. The Men in Green struggled in the middle overs after electing to bat first. The dry nature of Dubai's pitch assisted the Indian spinners, especially Kuldeep Yadav, who took three wickets. He also completed 300 wickets across formats. Meanwhile, Saud Shakeel was Pakistan's only half-centurion of the match.
Start
Pakistan lose openers in first powerplay
Pakistan had a watchful start, with openers Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam negotiating the Indian seamers. Mohammed Shami bowled five wides in the first over. Imam took his time, while Babar displayed his endaring drives initially. However, Hardik Pandya dismissed Babar in the ninth over. Imam departed in the next over as Axar Patel's direct hit ran him out. Pakistan were 52/2 after 10 overs.
Record
Shami bowls 11-ball first over
As mentioned, Shami bowled five wides in the match's first over, making it an 11-ball over. This is now the joint-longest over for India in ODIs, putting Shami alongside former pacers Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan. Notably, Shami bowled the second-longest over in Champions Trophy history. He is behind Bangladesh's Hassibul Hossain and Zimbabwe's Tinashe Panyangara, both of whom have bowled 13-ball overs.
Phase
India dominate in Overs 11-20
Skipper Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel tried to build a solid partnership after the openers departed. However, they were kept at bay by the Indian bowlers. They had to fight hard for even singles, let alone boundaries. Rohit Sharma set an attacking field in the next 10 overs to restrict Pakistan. The hosts scored just 27 runs in this phase.
Information
Too many dot balls for Pakistan
As per Cricbuzz, Pakistan have the second-highest dot-ball percentage in the first 20 overs in Champions Trophy 2025. They are only behind Afghanistan, who have a percentage of 65.8 in this regard.
Partnership
Axar Patel breaks Rizwan, Shakeel's century stand
Although Pakistan's dot-ball percentage was high, Rizwan and Shakeel didn't let India produce another breakthrough for 24 overs. They added 104 runs, which drove the Men in Green past 150. The pressure of successive dot balls resulted in Rizwan's wicket in the 34th over. He fell to Axar Patel for 46(77). One wicket brought two more in the form of Shakeel and Tayyab Tahir.
Shakeel
Shakeel slams his fourth ODI fifty
Hardik Pandya sent back Shakeel in the 35th over. The Pakistan batter scored a 76-ball 62 (5 fours). In 19 matches, Shakeel has raced past 400 runs in ODI cricket. In a career spanning nearly four years, the Pakistan batter has racked up 408 runs at an average of 27.20. He has a strike-rate of 85.35. This was Shakeel's fourth half-century in ODIs.
Collapse
Pakistan suffer lower-order collapse before adding crucial runs
Salman Agha and Khushdil Shah took Pakistan to 200 from 165/5 before Kuldeep dismissed the former. The left-arm wrist-spinner trapped Shaheen Afridi in front on the very next delivery. Pakistan were 200/7 in no time. While Khushdil dragged Pakistan's innings, Kuldeep dismissed Naseem Shah to further derail them. Khushdil's 38(39) and a late flourish from Haris Rauf helped Pakistan cross 240 eventually.
Wickets
Kuldeep completes 300 wickets across formats
After dismissing Agha, Kuldeep unlocked a significant achivement. He completed 300 wickets in international cricket. The star Indian wrist-spinner has over 175 wickets in ODI cricket. Although Kuldeep gets limited opportunities in Test cricket, he has fared reasonably well. His Test tally includes 56 wickets from 13 matches. Kuldeep has also taken 69 wickets from 40 T20Is at 14.07.