Ton-up Kohli propels India into Champions Trophy semis with Pakistan romp

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

Virat Kohli smacked the 51st century of his career as a rampant India kept their dominance in the ICC tournaments with a clinical six-wicket victory against a hapless Pakistan in their Champions Trophy match in Dubai on Sunday.

India made light work of a modest total of 241 and reached the target with 46 balls remaining to book their berth in the semi-finals of the tournament with two wins from two games.

Indian batting revolved around Kohli, who shared two big partnerships to steer them to safety. India got off to a blistering start as Rohit Sharma and Gill added a quick-fire 31 runs for the first wicket.

The Indian skipper played positive cricket to keep the pressure off right from the beginning.  Shaheen uprooted the stumps of Rohit to give Pakistan the first breakthrough. After the departure of Rohit, Kohli and Gill took the charge in their hands.

They batted with ease. Gill carried his momentum of the last match and hit a few beautiful shots to the delight of the spectators. Kohli and Gill took the score to 100 with a 69-run stand for the second wicket.

The match seemed to be drifting away from the hands of Pakistan. They needed to break the partnership to remain in the game. Abrar Ahmed dismantled the bails of Gill with a sharp moving delivery to bring a short-lived happiness into the camp.

After the departure of Gill, Iyer and Kohli took the innings forward. They played with determination and added 114 runs for the third wicket to bring the equation down to 27 needed off 65 balls.

India players react after a unsuccessful DRS review against Pakistan's Salman Agha at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Reuters

Iyer completed his fifty in 63 balls with the help of four boundaries. Kohli raced to his century with the winning boundary in 111 balls. His innings was studded with seven fours.

In the process, Kohli also completed his 14000 runs in ODIs when on 15.  He became the fastest to reach the milestone of 14,000 runs in just 287 innings, breaking the record of Indian great Sachin Tendulkar, who took 350 innings.

Pakistan got off to a decent start as the openers added 41 runs for the first wicket. Harshit and Shami failed to replicate their performance in the previous match.

India needed a breakthrough desperately as Pakistan was cruising along nicely. Hardik gave India the much-needed breakthrough as Babar Azam nicked a delivery and Rahul took a brilliant catch to send back Azam.

Imam-ul-Haq came out of the wilderness, after one and half year, directly into the pressure cooker match against India. He played his last ODI against South Africa at the 2023 World Cup in India, scoring just 12.

He failed to absorb the pressure and struggled to 10 off 26 before failing to make ground while scrambling for a single which never existed. Patel’s direct throw sent him back.

Pakistan were pushed on the back foot after losing two wickets within a span of six runs. The onus of taking the innings forward came on the shoulders of skipper Rizwan and Saud Shakeel.

India's Mohammed Shami bowls during the match. AFP

Rizwan was dropped by Gill off Shami in the 28th over. Rizwan drove it to the mid-on and the ball fell just short of Gill. To change the complexion of the games, such half chances should be converted into wickets.

Rizwan was dropped by Rana of Pandya on 44 but he failed to capitalise the chance and was clean bowled by Axar Patel after adding just two more runs to his total.

Rizwan’s dismissal brought respite to Indian camp as he added 104 runs for the third wicket with Shakeel. Both the batsmen played with caution and held the innings together.

They kept the Indian bowlers at bay for almost 24 long overs which means they almost played out half the overs. With the popularity of T20, batsmen have become used to playing in shorter formats and find it difficult to stick to the wicket.

Rizwan’s dismissal opened the floodgates for Indian bowlers as they ripped through the Pakistan middle-order. Soon after the departure of Rizwan, Shakeel holed out to Patel in the deep mid-wicket region in a failed attempt to take the aerial route.

Fans with their bodies painted in national flags of India and Pakistan pose with a cut-out of the ICC Champions Trophy in Ahmedabad. AFP

Jadeja rattled the stumps of Tayyab Tahir, who failed to read the line of the ball which knocked off the off stump. Pakistan lost three wickets within a span of 14 runs to be reduced to 165/5 from 151/2.

India lost a review when the TV umpire upheld the decision of the on-field umpire of a failed lbw appeal against Khushdil off Kuldeep in the 41st over.

Pakistan failed to get the partnerships going and kept on losing the wickets at regular intervals. Every time they took a stride forward, they were pegged back by two by the Indian bowlers.

Kuldeep also made hay while the sun shone. He got rid of Salman Agha and Shaheen Shah Afridi off the consecutive deliveries to leave Pakistan in tatters.

Khushdil was waging a lone battle on the other end. He shared a couple of important partnerships with Agha and Naseem before the latter became his third victim.