Watch: India Dismisses Babar Azam Cheaply!! Gives Brutal Send-off In Champions Trophy 2025

India came into the contest with full confidence from their previous victory against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the Champions Trophy 2025. A victory will qualify them for the semifinal of the eight-team tournament.

Pakistan, on the other hand, began with a huge 60-run defeat in the opening clash of the tournament against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. A defeat in this encounter will be the end of the road for the Green Brigade in this tournament.

Babar Azam and Imam Ul Haq provide Pakistan strong start

Pakistan’s captain, Mohammad Rizwan, won the toss and decided to bowl first on the surface, which he expected to get slow in the second innings, anticipating the dew not to make an appearance. Rohit reckoned that he would have bowled anyway on that surface.

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Mohammed Shami, didn’t make a great start with the new ball. The Bengal pacer struggled to find the rhythm with the ball and went with five wides in the opening room. Babar smashed a few early boundaries, while Shami looked a bit injured as the physio attended him early in the game.

India’s captain Rohit decided to use Hardik Pandya early in the contest before using Axar Patel from one end. After all the criticism he got in the previous encounter, it was a better batting show from the right-handed batter, as he moved to 19 runs in 24 deliveries.

Watch: Hardik Pandya sends back Babar Azam with a send-off

On the first ball of the eighth over, Babar pushed the full-length delivery through the covers for a boundary as the pacer got a frustrated face in him. The pressure increased on the blue brigade as they quickly got 41 runs on the board for no wickets.

Hardik foxed the former Pakistani batter on the very next delivery, as the all-rounder pulled his length back slightly and kept it outside off. The ball didn’t have any real movement as Babar went for a drive and got a thick outside edge. Rahul, behind the stumps, made no mistake and grabbed the catch on his right. Hardik, with a bit of a ‘bye, bye’ send-off gesture, looked at Azam.

Pakistan finally lost their opening wicket for 41 runs as Babar could smash 23 runs in 26 deliveries, shouldering on five boundaries. The entire crowd erupted as the 2013 winners got a chance to get full control of the encounter.

𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘿𝙄𝙆 𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙋𝙎 𝙐𝙋, 𝘽𝘼𝘽𝘼𝙍 𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙋𝙎 𝙊𝙐𝙏! 💥🎯

India gets the breakthrough as @hardikpandya7 forces the edge, and Babar Azam has to walk back! Game-changing moment? 🤯🔥#ChampionsTrophyOnJioStar 👉 🇮🇳 🆚 🇵🇰 | LIVE NOW on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi,… pic.twitter.com/PyRBhJQeXb

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 23, 2025

India keeps Pakistan’s run rate in check

With the wicket, the runs dried up suddenly. Babar Azam’s opening partner, Imam Ul Haq, followed the Pakistan captain into the pavilion as he fell short of the ground after trying to take a risky single on Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling.

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Two successive wickets brought two new batters for Pakistan in the middle, as they went nearly 40 balls without a single boundary. The third-wicket stand between Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan grew for nearly 40 runs, but it took them around 13 overs.

The overall run rate of the side dropped under four, and the Rohit Sharma-led side found itself in the driving seat. Anything around 250 will be a great score for the Indian side to chase down the target, while they can afford 20-25 runs more in the addition of the dew.

The next game for the Blue Brigade will be at the same venue against New Zealand on March 02. A defeat against Pakistan will make that a do-or-die clash for them.