Islamabad (Pakistan), February 24: Following Pakistan’s defeat against arch-rivals India in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Stadium, disappointed fans of the Pakistan Cricket Team voiced their frustration over the loss.
In what was a thrilling contest, Indian cricket legend Virat Kohli shone with an outstanding century, guiding the Indian team to a four-wicket victory over Pakistan. Kohli’s crucial knock of 100* off 111 balls, which included seven boundaries, proved to be the match-winning performance.
Fans were disappointed with Pakistan’s performance, particularly their batting effort. “We had a lot of hopes from our team that they will play well. We thought that they would reach a score of at least 315, but they did not even reach 250. Even if we lost, they should have at least stopped Kohli’s century. If they could not bat well, they could have saved the match by bowling properly. I request the PCB to give a chance to new faces so that our team may improve,” a fan shared, expressing his frustration.
Another fan pointed out the poor fielding display, adding that the team needs to undergo better training and be held accountable for their lackluster performance. “The performance was very poor even in fielding. They should undergo better training, and there should be some accountability for playing with the sentiments of the people,” the fan said.
In the match, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first. Despite a solid start with Babar Azam’s fine drives (23 in 26 balls), Pakistan quickly lost momentum after losing two wickets early, leaving the team at 47/2. Skipper Mohammed Rizwan (46 in 77 balls) and Saud Shakeel (62 in 76 balls) formed a 104-run partnership, but the duo took up a lot of deliveries, failing to accelerate the run rate. Khushdil Shah (38) and others contributed to push Pakistan’s total to 241 runs in 49.4 overs.
In response, India lost Rohit Sharma early but a 69-run partnership between Shubman Gill (46 in 52 balls) and Kohli, followed by a crucial 114-run stand between Kohli and Shreyas Iyer (56 in 67 balls), guided India to a comfortable four-wicket victory with six wickets and 45 balls to spare.
Despite the loss, fans were hopeful that their team could bounce back and improve in future games, urging the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to give opportunities to fresh talent and focus on improving their performance in all aspects of the game.