THE CHASE MASTER

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue- Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai [February 23, 2025].

The India-Pakistan rivalry is the biggest rivalry in world cricket. The stakes get even bigger when they meet in an ICC event. 23rd February, 2025, added one more chapter to the great battle between the two nations of the Radcliffe Line. The Indians won their first game against Bangladesh, whereas the Pakistanis were hammered in their backyard by the Kiwis. As a result, a win for India would have meant a semi-final berth, whereas for the Pakistanis, a defeat would have implied a knockout from the tournament. Amidst such a tense situation, Pakistani Captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and decided to bat first. 

The openers gave Men in Green a decent start. However, 2 quick wickets in between pushed them to the back foot. Furthermore, the Pakistanis were under extreme pressure because of tight fielding and disciplined bowling. It is interesting to note that the Pakistani batters at one stage became so defensive that it appeared that they were saving a test match and not setting a target. Apart from that, the Indians kept on picking wickets at regular intervals, due to which the hosts struggled to accelerate. Eventually they were bowled out for 241 runs in 49.4 overs. Saud Shakeel was their leading run scorer, who scored 62 of 76 deliveries. Except for him, no other Pakistani batsman managed to cross the 50-run mark. For Indians, Kuldeep Yadav was the leading wicket taker as he picked up 3 important wickets. 

In response, the Indians got off to a flyer before Shaheen Afridi dismissed Captain Rohit Sharma for 20. The Indian scorecard read 31/1 when Virat Kohli joined Shubhman Gill in between. The duo stitched a partnership of 69 runs before Abrar got the better of Gill. However, Abrar's celebration post Gill's dismissal added spice to the contest. The match was on a knife-edge when Iyer joined Kohli in between. However, that day Kohli looked unstoppable. The elegance with which he was playing was simply a delight to watch. In an unbeaten innings that lasted for 151 minutes, Kohli scored 100* off 111 balls. His innings comprised 7 boundaries. The cover drives were simply wow. However, it is interesting to note that despite having so many shots under his belt, Kohli constantly rotated strike and kept the scoreboard ticking with ones and twos. Kohli was truly at his ultimate best. 

The match was won with 45 balls remaining and 6 wickets in hand. With this win, Indians made their way into yet another ICC Semi-Final, whereas the Pakistanis were knocked out of the Champions Trophy. Virat Kohli was awarded the Man of the Match award for his excellent hundred as the legend of Chase master continued. Lastly, the ghosts of 2017 were well and truly buried now.