Virat Kohli’s 51st century in ODI cricket after a solid performance from the bowlers lifted India to a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Group A match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

After India lost the toss for the 12th consecutive time in ODI cricket – the most in the history by any team in the format – the Indian men’s cricket team bowled out Pakistan on 241 in 49.4 overs.

India, led by Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 100 off 111 balls, chased down the target in 42.3 overs. Kohli also went on to reach multiple milestones on the day.

With the catch of Naseem Shah in the 47th over, Virat Kohli surpassed former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin’s record of 156 catches, becoming the Indian fielder with the most catches in ODI cricket.

While batting, Virat Kohli achieved another milestone, becoming the fastest batter to reach 14,000 ODI runs. He reached the mark in 63 innings fewer than previous record holder Sachin Tendulkar.

The win placed India on top of the Group A table with four points and a net run rate (NRR) of 0.647.

New Zealand, who won their match against Pakistan in their opener, are second with two points, an NRR of 1.200 and a game in hand against Bangladesh.

India will face New Zealand in their next Champions Trophy 2025 clash at the same venue next Sunday.

Pakistan started their innings positively with Babar Azam playing fluently for his 23 before being dismissed by Hardik Pandya in the ninth over.

While Pakistan did manage to get decent partnerships throughout their innings, Indian bowlers managed back-to-back wickets in clusters to hamper their charge.

After the opening partnership was broken on 41, Imam-ul-Haq was run out courtesy of a sharp throw by Axar Patel from mid-on to make it 47/2.

Pakistan cricket team captain Mohammad Rizwan (46 off 77) and Saud Shakeel (62 off 76) took their time to rebuild the innings with a 104-run partnership and helped Pakistan reach 150/2 in 33 overs.

However, India took three wickets in the next four overs to reduce Pakistan to 167/5.

Khushdil Shah played a handy knock of 38 off 39 balls to anchor the remaining overs but wickets kept falling at the other end. He was the last man to be dismissed as India wrapped up the innings on 241 in the final over.

Kuldeep Yadav (3/43) and Hardik Pandya (2/31) were the pick of the Indian bowlers.

The Men in Blue started their chase positively with Rohit Sharma’s 20 off 15 helping India score at a run rate of over six in the first five overs.

The Indian captain was dismissed by Shaheen Afridi in the sixth over but Shubman Gill’s charge did not let the wicket affect India’s scoring rate.

Gill (46 off 52) walked back to the dressing room after being bowled by Abrar Ahmed in the 18th over. However, Shreyas Iyer’s 56 off 67 in a 114-run stand with Virat Kohli brought India within reach of securing the victory.

Pakistan struck late with the wickets of Iyer and Pandya but India strolled past the target in the 43rd over, with Virat Kohli hitting the winning runs with a boundary to bring up his 82nd century across formats.

IND vs PAK ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Group A match brief scores: Pakistan 241/10 in 49.4 overs (Saud Shakeel 62, Kuldeep Yadav 3/43) lost to India 244/4 in 42.3 overs (Virat Kohli 100*, Shaheen Afridi 2/74) by six wickets.