Watch: India Displays Fielding Brilliance With Direct Hit To Dismiss Imam Ul Haq In Champions Trophy 2025

India had a great chance of earning the semifinal tickets of the Champions Trophy 2025 with a victory in the second encounter against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. That will also rule the Green Brigade out of the eight-team competition.

On the other hand, Pakistan will be hoping to forget their opening defeat by 60 runs against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi. A victory will keep them alive in the contest before their final group-stage encounter against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

India fails to show rhythm with the new ball

That was the record 12th successive time in the ODIs that Rohit Sharma has lost the toss since the final of the ODI World Cup 2023 against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. But they were in full form with a three-match ODI series clean sweep victory against England at home.

Also Read: “Axar Patel Going Up The Order..”- Sanjay Manjrekar Says India Learned From 2023 World Cup Mistake

In the last game, the Blue Brigade used their new ball pretty well, picking up five wickets in the first seven overs thanks to Mohammad Shami. But the Bengal pacer lost his rhythm in this clash, as he went with five wides in the opening over.

Shami also struggled with a bit of injury as the physio attended him later on. India's captain needed to use Hardik Pandya early in the game as the all-rounder sent back Babar Azam, who, after a decent opening knock, got an outside edge into the hands of the wicket-keeper.

The Indian captain brought spin early into the attack, as Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav went for a few overs in the first 10 overs.

Watch: Axar Patel’s rocket throw sends back Imam Ul Haq

After the wicket ball of Babar Azam, the new southpaw Saud Shakeel got a leg-sided delivery on his legs from Hardik as he timed the ball through fine leg into the right side of diving KL Rahul for a boundary.

On the very first delivery of Kuldeep Yadav’s opening over, Imam used his feet and got to the pitch. He hit the floated delivery and stabbed it back to the left-arm wrist spinner. On the very next delivery, he used his feet and started to run almost the second after he hit the ball.

It was never a run at this position as Axar Patel’s rocket throw hit the stumps and found Imam short of the crease. The batter’s dive was not enough to save the batter from the dismissal, as he could manage just 10 runs in 26 deliveries.

𝘽𝙐𝙇𝙇𝙎𝙀𝙔𝙀! 🎯💥

Axar Patel with a stunning direct hit and Imam-ul-Haq is caught short! A moment of brilliance in the #GreatestRivalry—can Pakistan recover from this setback? 👀🔥#ChampionsTrophyOnJioStar 👉 🇮🇳 🆚 🇵🇰 | LIVE NOW on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star… pic.twitter.com/vkrBMgrxTi

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 23, 2025

Pakistan counters India with a strong third-wicket stand

Since then, both the new batters, Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel, focused on taking singles and building an innings for the green brigade, as they hardly took any risk and made sure that they wouldn’t lose any wickets. The surface was tricky for the new batters and would get easier after spending time in the middle.

Also Read: “Pakistan Is Fully Prepared”- PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi Warns India

“What can Pakistan do at this stage? At times, playing the ball with positive intent can calm you down. This pause should bring the question up to this pair. The rhythm has gone in this partnership, they look deflated. To win this competition, they need to be bossing it. At the moment, they are just surviving.” The former PCB chairman, Ramiz Raja, suggested the same, as quoted by BBC.

Shakeel celebrated his fourth ODI half-century in 63 balls to stretch the third-wicket stand to 90 runs. They were at 137/2 in 31 overs when the umpires called for drinks.