On Sunday, India beat Pakistan by six wickets in a one-sided Champions Trophy clash to seal a spot in the semifinals. India dismissed Pakistan for 241 after Saud Shakeel struck 62 off 76 balls, while skipper Mohammad Rizwan scored 46 from 77 deliveries.
In the match, Virat Kohli hit a significant milestone by making his 51st century in ODI Cricket after a solid performance from the bowlers lifted to a six-wicket victory.
India chased down the target in 42.3, thanks to Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 100 off 111 balls.
He also accomplished several milestones on the day. After taking the catch of Naseem Shah in the 47th over, Virat crossed the former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddian’s record of reaching 156 catches and became the Indian fielder with the highest number of catches in ODI cricket. He reached the mark in 63 innings fewer than Sachin Tendulkar, the previous record holder.
Kuldeep Yqadah got three wickets and all-rounder Hardik Pandya successfully removed Babar Azam and Shakeel. Rohit Shama also performed remarkably before falling to a beauty from Shaheen Afridi. But his 20 off 15 helped India score at a run rate of more than six in the first five overs. Shaheen Afridi dismissed the Indian captain, but Shubham Gill’s charge did not let the wicket affect the country’s overall scoring rate.
Gill walked down after being bowled by Abrar Ahmed with 46 off 52 in the 18th over. But Shreyeas’s 56 off 67 in a 114-run stand with Virat brought India within the winning position.
After this victory, India is on top of the Group A table with four points and a net run rate of 0.647. New Zealand is the second with two points won their match against Pakistan in their opener and a game in hand against Bangladesh.
