Tag: Champions Trophy 2025

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has slammed the national cricket team following their crushing defeat against India in the fifth match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

While speaking on a cricket show, the Rawalpindi Express expressed disappointment with the poor show of green shirts in all departments against arch-rivals.

“We always speak about intent but I think they also lack skills. If they had skills, they wouldn’t have played like way.”

He also talked about the team management and captaincy during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, labeling them “clueless” and “brainless”.

“Clueless management, to be honest, brainless captaincy… absolutely average team who displayed the skills there… nothing to talk about it,” Akhtar said.

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Shoaib Akhtar lamented the team’s ‘successive’ failures in the past few years.

“It is not unusual (from Pakistan team). Nothing to talk about it… they don’t know what to do… honestly nothing,” Shoaib Akhtar added.

Earlier, Virat Kohli’s record-breaking century and disciplined bowling propelled India to a convincing six-wicket victory over Pakistan in a crucial match of marquee event at the Dubai International Stadium.

India chased down a modest 242 with a loss of four wickets and 45 deliveries to spare. Virat Kohli remained unbeaten with 100 runs as he smashed seven fours. Shreyas Iyer struck 56 runs, studded with seven fours and a six.

Shaheen Shah Afridi took two wickets for 74 runs in his 8 overs. For Pakistan, Abrar Ahmed was the only positive as he finished with figures 1-28 in his 10 overs.

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Saud Shakeel scored a fifty as Pakistan set a 242-run target for India. Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan made 46 off 77 balls, while Khushdil Shah scored 38 off 39 deliveries.

Kuldeep Yadav was India’s bowler’s pick, taking three wickets, while Hardik Pandya took two.

Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja took one wicket each in the game.

READ: Champions Trophy: Virat Kohli opens up after his match-winning century against Pakistan

DUBAI: Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan has opened up after his team’s defeat against India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

While Speaking after the crushing defeat, Rizwan highlighted that Pakistan failed to capitalize on the toss advantage.

“We won the toss, but we didn’t get the benefit of it. Their bowlers bowled very well. Saud Shakeel and I wanted to take the game deep, but our shot selection let us down. They put us under pressure,” the skipper said.

Rizwan further remarked about losing wickets at crucial junctures and playing rash shots.

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“Saud and I were batting well; we had taken our time, but it could be said that we played poor shots,” said the wicketkeeper.

Mohammad Rizwan lamented the poor display of green shirts in all departments, especially fielding.

“Whenever you lose, it means you didn’t perform well in all departments. We wanted to squeeze them, but we couldn’t.”

“Kohli and Gill batted very well and took the game from us. We need to improve in our fielding as we made a lot of mistakes,” he said.

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For those unaware, India defeated Pakistan comprehensively in a one-sided encounter in the Champions Trophy blockbuster clash.

Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli’s masterful century steered India past Pakistan by six wickets in the fifth match of the eight-nation tournament.

The right-hander slammed his 51st ODI ton to take his team home. He top-scored with 100 runs off 111 balls in his record-breaking innings.

The hosts and defending champions also suffered defeat against New Zealand by 60 runs in the Champions Trophy opener.

READ: Virat Kohli slams ton as India defeats Pakistan in Champions Trophy clash

DUBAI: India star batter Virat Kohli achieved yet another historic milestone, surpassing legendary Sachin Tendulkar in his team’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against Pakistan here on Sunday.

The batting maestro became the only third player in history to reach 14,000 runs in ODIs, with Tendulkar and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara being the other two.

While coming in to bat, he required only 15 runs to break this record; Kohli achieved the milestone with his trademark cover drive in the 12th over of the match in his 287th innings.

Virat Kohli achieved the feat significantly faster than Sachin Tendulkar, who reached the landmark in his 350th innings during a match against Pakistan in Peshawar back in 2006.

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Earlier, he had a chance to break the record during India’s Champions Trophy 2025 opener against Bangladesh. However, he fell cheaply after scoring just 22 runs off 38 balls.

Despite his dismissal, India secured a comfortable victory against Bangladesh by five wickets courtesy of Shubman Gill’s century. The Men in Blue chased 229 in 46.3 overs on the loss of four wickets.

The run machine also broke the record for taking the most catches for India in the format.

Before coming into the highly-anticipated clash, Virat Kohli was tied with his compatriot Mohammad Azharuddin. He took two more catches to go past the former captain.

Most catches by an Indian fielder in ODIs

Virat Kohli – 158 catches

Mohammad Azharuddin – 156 catches

Sachin Tendulkar – 140 catches

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Playing XIs of Pakistan-India

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Tayyab Tahir, Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami

READ: Champions Trophy: Dominant India bundle Pakistan for 241

DUBAI: India batting maestro Virat Kohli struck a brilliant century to help his team defeat arch-rivals Pakistan by six wickets in the fifth match of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 here at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

In a high-voltage encounter, India successfully chased the 242-run target at the loss of four wickets with 45 balls to spare.

Chasing 242, India was off to a good start courtesy of the free-flowing batting of their opening batters Rohit Sharma (20) and Shubman Gill (46). However, Shaheen Shah Afridi struck in the fifth over, sending back the Indian skipper to give Pakistan an opening.

After that, Virat Kohli joined Gill and added 69 runs for the second wicket stand before the latter was dismissed by a beautiful delivery from Abrar Ahmed in the 17th over.

Shreyas Iyer then joined Virat Kohli and the duo constructed a match-winning partnership of 114 runs to edge India closer to victory.

Iyer scored 56 off 67 deliveries before falling victim to Khushdil Shah in the 39th over. The 30-old-batter’s brisk innings included five fours and one huge six.

However, Kohli dominated Pakistan again and smashed his 51st ODI century with the winning shot to steer India to a famous victory.

He top-scored with an unbeaten knock of 100 runs on 111 balls, which featured seven fours. He was adjudged the Player of the Match for his brilliant knock.

For Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi took two wickets for 74 runs in his eight overs. Abrar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah chipped in with one wicket each.

Earlier, after winning the toss, Pakistan opted to bat. The Men in Green got off to a steady start after opting to bat first as the new opening pair of Babar Azam (23) and Imam-ul-Haq (10) stitched together a 41-run stand.

However, Babar fell prey to Hardik Pandya, while Imam was run out in the span of six balls, leaving Pakistan reeling at 47-2 in 9.2 overs.

Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel joined hands to help the team recover, knitting a 104-run partnership for the third wicket from 144 balls.

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Just when Pakistan batters looked to switch gears, India made a comeback with two quick wickets, reducing the Green Shirts to 159-4 inside 25 overs.

Rizwan was castled by Axar Patel after scoring a scratchy 46 off 77, featuring three boundaries.

Meanwhile, Saud played a gutsy 62-run knock from 76 balls with the help of five boundaries before falling to Pandya.

Ravindra Jadeja bowled Tayyab Tahir (4) before Salman Ali Agha and Khushdil Shah added valuable 35 runs for the sixth wicket.

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However, Kuldeep Yadav halted their momentum by dismissing Salman (19) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (0) on back-to-back balls to further add to Pakistan’s troubles.

Khushdil Shah then played a 38-run cameo off 39 balls, which included two sixes to take Pakistan’s total to 241. Harshit Rana ended his innings, bringing the Green Shirts’ innings to a dramatic close in the final over.

Kuldeep Yadav led India’s bowling attack with three wickets, while Hardik Pandya managed two. Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja bagged one wicket each.

DUBAI: India star batter Virat Kohli is on the brink of yet another historic milestone, with a chance to surpass the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in his team’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against Pakistan here on Sunday.

The batting maestro needs just 15 more runs to become only the third player in history to reach 14,000 runs in ODIs, with Tendulkar and Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara being the other two.

If Virat Kohli gets there in the match against Pakistan, he will achieve the feat in his 287th innings—significantly faster than Sachin Tendulkar, who reached the landmark in his 350th innings during a match against Pakistan in Peshawar back in 2006.

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He had a chance to break the record during India’s Champions Trophy 2025 opener against Bangladesh. However, he fell cheaply after scoring just 22 runs off 38 balls.

Despite his dismissal, India secured a comfortable victory against Bangladesh by five wickets courtesy of Shubman Gill’s century. The Men in Blue chased 229 in 46.3 overs on the loss of four wickets.

Catch every Champions Trophy update here!

Playing XIs of Pakistan-India

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Tayyab Tahir, Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami

READ: Mohammed Shami registers unwanted record in Pakistan clash

DUBAI: India pacer Mohammed Shami found himself in the record books for all the wrong reasons during the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Pakistan, having won the toss and opted to bat first, got a massive helping hand early on as Shami endured a disastrous start with the ball.

The experienced pacer bowled an 11-ball first over, including five wides, making it the longest over ever bowled by an Indian in ODI cricket.

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This unwanted feat places him in an exclusive yet unfortunate club alongside Irfan Pathan (2006) and Zaheer Khan (2003), both of whom also bowled 11-ball opening overs.

Longest over by an Indian in an ODI

• Mohammed Shami – 11 balls vs Pakistan, Dubai (2025)
• Irfan Pathan – 11 balls vs West Indies, Kingston (2006)
• Zaheer Khan – 11 balls vs Australia, Wankhede (2003)

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While Shami’s over was far from ideal, it still didn’t come close to the longest over in ODI history—an infamous 17-ball marathon by Pakistan’s Mohammad Sami against Bangladesh in the 2004 Asia Cup, which included seven wides and four no-balls.

Playing XIs of Pakistan-India

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Tayyab Tahir, Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami

READ: Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli: A statistical face-off before Champions Trophy showdown

DUBAI: Virat Kohli’s century headlines as India thrashed Pakistan by six wickets in the fifth match of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 here at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

IND 244/4

42.3 Khushdil to Kohli, FOUR runs. There is it, century no. 51! India wins..

Khushdil returns

IND 225/4 (42 Overs)

Shaheen continues

IND 225/4 (41 Overs)

Salman continues

IND 223/4 (40 Overs)

39.6: Shaheen Shah Afridi to Hardik, OUT

Hardik Pandya 8 (6b 1×4 0x6) SR: 133.33

Shaheen returns

IND 215/3 (39 Overs)

38.5: Khushdil to Shreyas Iyer, OUT. Taken at cover by flying Imam.

Shreyas Iyer Khushdil Shah 56 (67b 5×4 1×6) SR: 83.58

Khushdil returns

IND 209/2 (38 Overs)

Rauf continues

IND 203/2 (37 Overs)

Abrar to continue

IND 200/2 (36 Overs)

Haris back into the attack

IND 189/2 (35 Overs)

Abrar continues

IND 185/2 (33 Overs)

Naseem returns

IND 179/2 (32 Overs)

Abrar returns

IND 175/2 (31 Overs)

Khushdil to continue

IND 168/2 (30 Overs)

Agha Salman comes into the bowling attack

IND 160/2 (29 Overs)

Khushdil continues

IND 150/2 (28 Overs)

Shaheen comes back into the bowling attack

IND 140/2 (27 Overs)

Khushdil continues

IND 136/2 (26 Overs)

26.1: Naseem to Kohli. He smashes it over deep cover. Yet another half-century for Virat Kohli against Pakistan.

Virat Kohli 51 (62b 3×4)

Naseem continues

IND 128/2 (26 Overs)

Khushdil returns

IND 126/2 (25 Overs)

Naseem Shah returns

IND 124/2 (24 Overs)

Abrar continues

IND 123/2 (23 Overs)

Haris continues

IND 118/2 (22 Overs)

Abrar to continue

IND 115/2 (21 Overs)

Haris continues

IND 109/2 (20 Overs)

Abrar continues

IND 107/2 (19 Overs)

Haris continues

IND 102/2 (18 Overs)

17.3: Abrar gets well-set Gill with an absolute beauty.

Shubman Gill 46 (52b 7×4 0x6) SR: 88.46

IND 99/1 (17 Overs)

Khushdil continues

IND 93/1 (16 Overs)

Abrar continues

IND 89/1 (15 Overs)

Khushdil comes to bowl

IND 87/1 (14 Overs)

Abrar continues

IND 84/1 (13 Overs)

12.2: Haris Rauf to Kohli, FOUR runs. Here is the milestone for Kohli. 14000 runs in ODIs, and it comes with the signature punch through cover.

Haris Rauf continues

IND 70/1 (12 Overs)

It’s time for some spin. Abrar Ahmed comes to bowl

IND 67/1 (11 Overs)

Haris Rauf into the attack

IND 64/1 (10 Overs)

Naseem to continue

IND 63/1 (9 Overs)

Shaheen continues

IND 49/1 (8 Overs)

Naseem to continue

IND 46/1 (7 Overs)

Shaheen continues

IND 31/1 (6 Overs)

Naseem continues

IND 31/1 (5 Overs)

4.6: Shaheen gets Rohit Sharma with an absolute in dipping yorker.

Rohit Sharma 20 (15b 3×4 1×6) SR: 133.33

Shaheen continues

IND 26/0 (4 Overs)

Naseem continues

IND 20/0 (3 Overs)

Shaheen continues

IND 12/0 (2 Overs)

Naseem Shah will bowl from the other end.

IND 2/0 (1 Over)

Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma to open the innings for India. Shaheen Afridi will take the new ball for Pakistan.

PAKISTAN vs INDIA (2nd INNINGS)

A combined bowling effort by Team India bundled Pakistan for 241 in 49.4 overs in the second match of the multi-nation tournament.

PAK 241 (49.4 Overs)

49.4: Harshit to Khushdil. He skies the ball in the air, and it’s caught. End of the innings for Khushdil and Pakistan.
Khushdil Shah 38 (39b 0x4 2×6) SR: 97.43

Harshit to bowl the last over of the innings.

PAK 241/9 (49 Overs)

48.6: Going for the double run but an accurate through ends Rauf’s innings.

Haris Rauf  8 (7b 0x4 1×6) SR: 114.28

Shami returns

PAK 227/8 (48 Overs)

Harshit returns

PAK 222/8 (47 Overs)

46.4: Naseem tries to push the ball, but it’s in the air and straight to long on. Virat Kohli takes a brilliant catch.

Naseem Shah 14 (16b 1×4 0x6) SR: 87.5

Kuldeep continues

PAK 219/7 (46 Overs)

Shami returns

PAK 212/7 (45 Overs)

Kuldeep to continue

PAK 200/7 (44 Overs)

Harshit Rana back into the attack

PAK 200/7 (43 Overs)

42.5: Another wicket for India as Shaheen goes on zero.

Shaheen Shah Afridi 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0

42.4: Salman gives it a big heave, but it’s a top edge and taken by Jadeja.

Salman Agha 19 (24b 0x4 0x6) SR: 79.16

Kuldeep continues

PAK 197/5 (42 Overs)

Axar to continue

PAK 188/5 (41 Overs)

Kuldeep returns

PAK 183/5 (40 Overs)

Axar continues

PAK 177/5 (39 Overs)

Jadeja continues

PAK 170/5 (38 Overs)

Axar continues

PAK 167/5 (37 Overs)

36.1: The ball landed on a length in front of the middle and turned away a touch, Tahir tried to run it towards third. Tentative poke, got the wrist down but played the wrong line. The ball hit the middle and off in the end.

Tayyab Tahir 4 (6b 0x4 0x6) SR: 66.66

Jadeja returns

PAK 165/4 (36 Overs)

Axar continues

PAK 160/4 (35 Overs)

34.5: Saud Shakeel tries to force a pull over Axar Patel but ends up holing out to deep midwicket.

Saud Shakeel 62 (76b 5×4 0x6) SR: 81.57

Hardik continues

PAK 154/3 (34 Overs)

33.2: Rizwan steps out and aims to heave it over mid-on who is inside the circle. But does not connect as Axar hits the stumps.

Mohammad Rizwan 46 (77b 3×4 0x6) SR: 59.74

Axar Patel continues

PAK 150/2 (33 Overs)

Hardik is back in the attack

PAK 142/2 (32 Overs)

Axar Patel returns

PAK 137/2 (31 Overs)

Ravindra Jadeja continues

PAK 129/2 (30 Overs)

Axar Patel returns

PAK 126/2 (29 Overs)

Ravindra Jadeja continues

PAK 121/2 (28 Overs)

Shami returns to the attack

PAK 116/2 (27 Overs)

Ravindra Jadeja continues

PAK 107/2 (26 Overs)

Kuldeep Yadav continues

PAK 99/2 (25 Overs)

Ravindra Jadeja continues

PAK 94/2 (24 Overs)

Kuldeep Yadav continues

PAK 90/2 (23 Overs)

Ravindra Jadeja to bowl his first over

PAK 86/2 (22 Overs)

Kuldeep Yadav continues

PAK 82/2 (21 Overs)

Harshit Rana continues

PAK 79/2 (20 Overs)

Kuldeep Yadav replaces Axar Patel

PAK 77/2 (19 Overs)

Harshit Rana returns

PAK 74/2 (18 Overs)

Axar Patel continues

PAK 72/2 (17 Overs)

Hardik Pandya continues

PAK 70/2 (16 Overs)

Axar Patel returns

PAK 63/2 (15 Overs)

Hardik Pandya continues

PAK 61/2 (14 Overs)

Shami continues

PAK 59/2 (13 Overs)

Hardik Pandya continues

PAK 58/2 (12 Overs)

Mohammed Shami returns to bowl

PAK 55/2 (11 Overs)

Hardik Pandya continues

PAK 52/2 (10 Overs)

9.2: Imam jumps out of his crease once again and pushes it straight to Axar at mid-on. Axar gathers the ball quickly and throws down the stumps at the bowler’s end to catch Imam well short.

Imam-ul-Haq 10 (26b 0x4 0x6) SR: 38.46

Kuldeep Yadav to bowl the final over of the first powerplay

PAK 47/1 (9 Overs)

8.2: Hardik drags his length back outside off, it veers away against the inward angle. He finds the away movement he was looking for off the pitch. It messes with Babar’s drive. He can only snick it behind to the keeper.

Babar Azam 23 (26b 5×4 0x6) SR: 88.46

Hardik Pandya continues

PAK 37/0 (8 Overs)

Axar Patel to bowl the eighth over

PAK 31/0 (7 Overs)

Hardik Pandya replaces Mohammad Shami

PAK 26/0 (6 Overs)

Harshit Rana continues

PAK 25/0 (5 Overs)

Shami continues

PAK 22/0 (4 Overs)

Harshit Rana continues

PAK 14/0 (3 Overs)

Shami continues

PAK 10/0 (2 Overs)

Harshit Rana to bowl from the other end

PAK 6/0 (1 Over)

Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq to open the innings for Pakistan. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami will take the new ball for India.

PAKISTAN vs INDIA (1st INNINGS)

Pakistan have won the toss and opted to bat first against India in the fifth match of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025.

READ: PCB seeks ICC’s clarification after Indian anthem played at Gaddafi Stadium

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Tayyab Tahir, Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami

Catch every Champions Trophy update here!

The 2025 edition marks the return of the ICC Champions Trophy after an eight-year break, with the last tournament being held in 2017, where Pakistan defeated their arch-rivals India in the final.

The eight-team tournament will feature 15 matches over 19 days, taking place in Pakistan and Dubai.

The teams are divided into two groups for the initial stage. Each team will play three group-stage matches, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals.

Group A consists of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and New Zealand, while Group B includes Afghanistan, England, Australia, and South Africa.

READ: Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli: A statistical face-off before Champions Trophy showdown

The excitement among the fans is evident as the highly anticipated match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in ICC Champions Trophy 2025 approaches, reigniting debates about two of modern cricket’s finest batters—Virat Kohli and Babar Azam.

Both players have been instrumental in their teams’ success over the past decade, consistently scoring runs and shouldering immense responsibility.

As the high-voltage encounter between Pakistan and India approaches, let’s compare Virat Kohli and Babar Azam’s stats after 127 ODIs, along with their performances in the Champions Trophy.

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Babar Azam came under the microscope for his scratchy 64 off 90 balls in Pakistan’s 60-run loss to New Zealand in the Champions Trophy opener. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli had an uncharacteristic outing against Bangladesh, scoring just 22 off 38 balls.

Lately, both batters have had demons while facing spin-bowling. Kohli has been dismissed by a leg-spinner in each of his last three ODI appearances, while Babar has struggled against spin bowlers over the past two years.

ODI Stats After 127 Matches – Kohli vs. Babar

Babar Azam’s recent form has been a topic of discussion, but his overall stats reinforce why he is regarded as Pakistan’s best batter.

In 127 ODI matches so far, he has amassed 6,083 runs at a remarkable average of 55.8, with a strike rate of 87.9. His tally includes 19 centuries and 35 half-centuries.

In comparison, at the 127-match mark, Virat Kohli had accumulated 5,355 runs at an average of 52.5 and a strike rate of 89.6, with 18 centuries and 29 fifties.

Babar Azam has maintained an even higher batting average at the same stage of his career, edging Kohli in centuries and overall runs. However, Kohli had a slightly better strike rate during this phase.

Kohli vs Babar: A Champions Trophy Comparison

Virat Kohli’s journey across four editions of the ICC Champions Trophy, from 2009 to 2025, has been remarkable.

Over 14 matches, he has amassed 551 runs at an outstanding average of 78.71, including five half-centuries. His highest score remains an unbeaten 96, and he has maintained an impressive strike rate of 90.18.

However, despite his consistency, the prolific batter is yet to register a century in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Babar Azam is competing in his second Champions Trophy. He played a crucial role in Pakistan’s 2017 triumph and has since scored 197 runs in six matches at an average of 49.25.

His highest score is 64, with one half-century to his name. However, his strike rate of 73.50 is notably lower than Kohli’s.

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While Virat Kohli and Babar Azam both stand as modern-day greats, their careers have followed different trajectories. Kohli’s longevity and consistency across all formats have made him one of cricket’s finest, while Babar continues to carve out his legacy with remarkable performances.

As they prepare for yet another high-stakes battle, all eyes will be on how these two maestros handle the pressure and deliver on the grand stage.

READ: Pakistan likely to make one change for Champions Trophy clash against India: sources

DUBAI: Pakistan team management is likely to make one change to their Playing XI for the much-awaited ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash against arch-rivals India, scheduled to be played here today.

According to reports, Imam-ul-Haq is likely to replace Fakhar Zaman at the top of the order, while the rest of the line-up will stay the same, which played in the Champions Trophy opener against New Zealand.

For the unversed, Imam-ul-Haq was called up in the Pakistan squad as a replacement for Fakhar, who was ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025 after he sustained an injury during the match against New Zealand.

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There were rumours of Babar Azam going back to his usual number three spot, however, recent reports suggest that he will continue to open the innings.

It’s worth noting that Pakistan are looking to bounce back after a disappointing 60-run loss to New Zealand in their opening match in Karachi.

Meanwhile, India started their Champions Trophy campaign with a convincing win against Bangladesh as they comfortably chased a 229-run target against Bangladesh, thanks to a brilliant 101-run knock by Shubman Gill.

Catch every Champions Trophy update here!

Historically, Pakistan has a slight edge over India in the Champions Trophy, winning three out of their five meetings.

Their last encounter in the tournament was the 2017 final, where Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side produced a dominant performance, thrashing India by 180 runs to lift their first-ever Champions Trophy title.

Pakistan likely Playing XI for India clash: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (c)(wk), Tayyab Tahir, Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

READ: PCB seeks ICC’s clarification after Indian anthem played at Gaddafi Stadium