Dubai, Feb 23 (NationPress) Kuldeep Yadav excelled in the latter stages, finishing with figures of 3-40, while Hardik Pandya showcased his skills with 2-31, leading an outstanding bowling effort that saw India dismiss Pakistan for 241 in 49.4 overs during the crucial 2025 Champions Trophy clash at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.

Batting first on a sluggish pitch, Pakistan managed to get starts from their batters but struggled to accelerate. A 104-run partnership between Saud Shakeel (62) and Mohammad Rizwan (46) stood out as the only significant aspect of their innings, which was marked by slow scoring. From 151-2, Pakistan appeared poised to surpass 250, but India triggered a batting collapse, bowling them out for 241.

In addition to Kuldeep and Hardik, Harshit Rana, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel each took a wicket, as India consistently picked wickets, particularly in the middle overs, despite conceding 17 extras.

The start of their innings with the ball was rocky for India as Mohammed Shami had a wayward first over, giving away five wides. Following two boundaries from Babar Azam, Shami faced discomfort in his right shin during his third over and required treatment.

After completing his over, Shami exited the field, placing the responsibility of applying pressure on the remaining bowling unit. Hardik eventually provided the initial breakthrough by bowling outside off-stump, resulting in Azam edging to keeper KL Rahul, who made a low diving catch.

Imam-ul-Haq, playing his first ODI since the 2023 ODI World Cup, struggled and was run out for 10 off 26 balls following a direct hit from Axar, who found him short of the crease despite a desperate dive.

Shami returned with better precision, as India maintained pressure on Pakistan, allowing only one boundary between overs 11-20 and conceding just 27 runs. The pitch began to grip, aiding India in keeping Rizwan and Shakeel under control.

However, after the halfway mark, Pakistan increased their scoring rate, with Rizwan sweeping Jadeja for a boundary, while Shakeel executed reverse-sweeps against Kuldeep for two boundaries. Each player managed to score off Jadeja again, and Shakeel reached his fourth ODI fifty in 69 balls.

The increased aggression from Pakistan put India under pressure, illustrated by a missed run-out opportunity for Shakeel and a dropped catch by Rana, allowing Rizwan a life on 44. However, Axar ensured that Rana's drop didn't cost much by bowling out the Pakistan captain for 46.

India could have dismissed Shakeel in the same over had Kuldeep not dropped a catch at wide long-on. Nonetheless, it didn't significantly impact India as Hardik took pace off a short ball, resulting in Shakeel pulling to deep mid-wicket. One wicket led to another as Tayyab Tahir was bowled by Jadeja, contributing to Pakistan losing three wickets for just 11 runs between the 34th and 37th overs.

Following that, Pakistan's decline continued as Kuldeep had Salman Ali Agha caught at cover point and trapped Shaheen Shah Afridi lbw with consecutive googlies, before dismissing Naseem Shah who chipped to long-on. Khushdil Shah and Haris Rauf each hit a six off Shami, but both fell quickly, leaving Pakistan pondering whether they had posted enough runs on a pitch likely to slow down later in the match.

Brief Scores: Pakistan 241 all out in 49.4 overs (Saud Shakeel 62, Mohammad Rizwan 46; Kuldeep Yadav 3-40, Hardik Pandya 2-31) against India