Rizwan Acknowledges Champions Trophy Outcome Following India-Pakistan Clash
25 days ago | 5 Views
Pakistan faces elimination after suffering consecutive defeats in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025. Their most recent setback occurred against India on Sunday, resulting in a six-wicket loss. In pursuit of 242 runs, the visitors successfully reached 244/4 in just 42.3 overs, largely thanks to an unbeaten century from former captain Virat Kohli, who scored 100 not out.
The match took place in Dubai, rather than in Pakistan, where the tournament is officially hosted. India opted not to travel to Pakistan due to ongoing political tensions between the two nations. As a result, Pakistan finds itself at the bottom of Group A, having lost both of their matches, and they currently possess a lower net run rate than third-placed Bangladesh, who have only played one match thus far.
‘Our campaign is as good as over’: Mohammad Rizwan
Following the match, Pakistan's captain Mohammad Rizwan stated that his team's chances of advancing in the tournament were nearly extinguished, emphasizing the need for an extraordinary turn of events to qualify. "We can conclude that our campaign is virtually over. Our fate now relies on the outcomes of other matches. There remains a glimmer of hope with one game still to play. As a captain, I find this situation (relying on other teams) unsatisfactory. We should have control over our destiny," he remarked during the post-match press conference.
Rizwan also expressed admiration for Virat Kohli, who achieved his 51st ODI century, including his fourth against Pakistan. "I am truly impressed by the dedication he demonstrates. Despite widespread belief that he was out of form, he managed to score runs effortlessly in such a crucial match. His fitness and work ethic are commendable. We made every effort to dismiss him, but we were unsuccessful," he noted.
Regarding the match itself, he conveyed disappointment, acknowledging that mistakes were made across all three facets of the game. "We failed to secure wickets during the middle overs," he added.
In the contest against India, Saud Shakeel contributed a resilient half-century, scoring 62 runs off 76 deliveries, which helped his team reach a total of 241 in 49.4 overs. On the Indian side, Kuldeep Yadav claimed three wickets, while Hardik Pandya took two.
India is set to face New Zealand in their final Group A match on Sunday (March 2), while Pakistan will compete against Bangladesh on Thursday (February 27).
