Mohammad Rizwan in action during Champions Trophy 2025© AFP
Captain Mohammad Rizwan conceded that Pakistan made many mistakes in a six-wicket defeat against their arch-rival India in the high-stakes Champions Trophy clash on Sunday in Dubai. Pakistan needed a win against a formidable India side to keep their fate in the Champions Trophy in their hands. However, things fell apart for Pakistan even though the toss went their way. A sluggish display with the bat and an uninspired bowling display jeopardised their title defence. On the other hand, India’s spinners kept Pakistan’s top stars confined while Virat Kohli dictated the terms of the chase with his unbeaten 51st ODI century. After falling short against their bitter rival, Rizwan didn’t mince his words while summing up Pakistan’s performance against India.
“We won the toss, but we didn’t get the benefit of the toss. Their (India) bowlers bowled very well. And Saud Shakeel, I wanted to take it deep. Poor shot selection. They put us under pressure. Whenever you lose, you don’t perform in all departments,” Rizwan said in the post-match presentation.
After putting up a modest 241 on the board, Pakistan saw a vague glimmer of hope when Shaheen Afridi cleaned up India skipper Rohit Sharma’s middle stump in the powerplay.
However, the moment faded away when Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli steadied the ship by stitching up a 69-run stand to break the backbone of Pakistan’s defence. A couple of dropped catches didn’t help Pakistan’s cause as Pakistan fell against India in an ICC tournament yet again.
“We wanted to squeeze, but we couldn’t. Kohli and Gill batted very well and took the game away. We need to improve our fielding. We made a lot of mistakes in this match,” Rizwan concluded.
Pakistan is all but confirmed to end its Champions Trophy campaign in the group stage. If New Zealand outfoxes Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Monday, Pakistan’s title defence will end on a bitter note. The defending champions will play their final group-stage game against Bangladesh on Thursday in Rawalpindi.
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