In the biggest match of the year, with his mortality showing more than it ever used to, Virat Kohli showed he’s still got it, that maybe, just maybe, the little he’s lost wasn’t going to define him. He ticked off 14,000 runs in ODI cricket, brought up his 51st ODI century, set up India for … Read more
India will take on archrival Pakistan in its second match in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The Men in Blue have a near-perfect record at this ground. In seven games it has played here, it was won six and tied one. India has faced Pakistan twice in … Read more
ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Defining Moments in India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy Encounters
Big picture: Pakistan’s fight for survival If ever Pakistan needed a miracle, it is now. Not for the cricketers’ fault, they find themselves isolated in international cricket to the extent that this is the first ICC event they are hosting in 29 years. And barely three days into the Champions Trophy, following a thrashing against … Read more
Ryan Rickelton became the second South African man, after Gary Kirsten, to score a century on debut in an ICC tournament as South Africa began its Champions Trophy campaign with a convincing 107-run victory against Afghanistan. At the National Stadium on Friday, the young Rickelton (103, 106b, 7×4, 1×6) justified his team’s decision to bat … Read more
India 231 for 4 (Gill 101*, Rahul 41*, Rishad 2-38) beat Bangladesh 228 (Hridoy 100, Jaker 68, Shami 5-53) by six wickets Shubman Gill dug deep for his slowest ODI hundred and India’s slowest in the last six years to see India through a tricky chase of 229 that must have brought back memories of … Read more
Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi on Thursday said calls from other nations for a boycott of their matches because of the treatment of women by the ruling Taliban did not affect his team. Afghanistan open its Group B campaign in the Champions Trophy against South Africa in Karachi on Friday. Last month South Africa Sports Minister … Read more
Big picture: Those boring middle overs It can feel like the middle phase of an ODI don’t matter all that much. Mahela Jayawardene came in to bat at exactly this point in the final of an ODI World Cup and made a hundred. But that is not that match, or even he, is remembered for. … Read more
Form and fandom can be fickle in professional sports. In the first week of 2025, Indian cricket was despondent following its disastrous Test series defeats to New Zealand (0-3, home) and Australia (1-3, away). A cloud of uncertainty hung over the big names. Six weeks later, that gloomy time seems like a distant memory. As … Read more
Fakhar Zaman suffered an injury scare in the opening over of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy clash against New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday. The incident occurred on the third ball of Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first over, a wide and full delivery that Will Young drove through the covers for three runs. Fakhar sprinted to the boundary … Read more