India's top 3 batting performances against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy ft. Virat Kohli
Team India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the much-hyped marquee clash of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday, February 23. India and Pakistan have got off to contrasting starts in the ICC event. While the Men in Blue beat Bangladesh by six wickets in their first match in Dubai, Pakistan went down to New Zealand by 60 runs at the National Stadium in Karachi in the tournament opener.
If we look at the head-to-head stats between India and Pakistan in ODIs, the arch-rivals have met in 135 matches, with the latter having a 73-57 lead in the head-to-head numbers. Five matches have ended in no-result. While Pakistan have the lead in the overall numbers, Team India have undoubtedly been the dominant side in the contest over the last decade.
Looking specifically at the Champions Trophy, India and Pakistan have met five times in the ICC event, with the latter having a 3-2 lead. There have been some impressive batting performances from Indian players in Champions Trophy matches against Pakistan. Ahead of the latest battle between the two sides in the ICC tournament, we look back at three of the best.
#3 Hardik Pandya (76 off 43)
Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya clobbered a magnificent 76 off 43 balls against Pakistan in Birmingham in the 2017 Champions Trophy final. He slammed four fours and six sixes in his entertaining 46-minute stay at the crease, which ended when he was run out following a horrible mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja.
Pandya's effort came in a losing cause as India were bundled out for 158 in 30.3 overs, chasing a huge target of 339. It was an excellent knock nonetheless. The right-handed batter walked in, with the Men in Blue having lost half their side for 54 in 13.3 overs. Rohit Sharma (0), Virat Kohli (5), Shikhar Dhawan (21), Yuvraj Singh (22), and MS Dhoni (4) were all back in the hut.
Pandya launched a stunning counter-attack, clobbering Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan for three consecutive sixes and a four in the 23rd over. A couple of overs later, he took on Fakhar Zaman and launched him for consecutive sixes. Even though India were way behind in the chase, Pandya's brilliance had given them slight hope, which ended following his run-out in a horrible manner.
#2 Virat Kohli (81* off 68)
Leading the team in the 2017 Champions Trophy, Kohli smashed an unbeaten 81 off 68 balls in a Group B match in Birmingham. Pakistan elected to field first in the contest, but the move backfired as India put up 319-3 on the board in 48 overs in a rain-affected game. India won the contest by 124 runs (DLS method) as Pakistan were held to 164, chasing a revised target of 289 in 41 overs.
Openers Rohit (91 off 119) and Dhawan (68 off 65) got India off to a solid start, adding 136 in 24.3 overs. Rohit could not accelerate his innings and was run out, nine short of a hundred. Kohli, however, boosted the team's run rate, hitting six fours and three sixes in his knock.
Coming to bat at the fall of Dhawan's wicket, he began in a watchful manner and was even struggling to time the ball. Kohli, however, turned the tide with flat-bat six off Hasan Ali in the 45th over - a stroke which also brought up his fifty. The Indian captain took on Wahab Riaz in the next over and clubbed him for 4, 4, 6. He took on Hasan again and slammed him for four through cover and six over extra cover.
#1 Yuvraj Singh (53 off 32)
In what can be considered Yuvraj's swansong in international cricket, the left-handed batter smashed a brutal 53 off 32 balls against Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy Group B match in Birmingham. While Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli all scored half-centuries in the game, it was Yuvraj who walked away with the Player of the Match award for his stunning performance with the willow.
Coming into bat at No. 4, the stylish southpaw whacked eight fours and a six in his 49-minute stay at the crease. Yuvraj got into rhythm early in his innings, punching a full ball from Wahab past mid-on for four. He kept piercing the gaps and hit three boundaries in three overs after being dropped off Shadab's bowling.
In the 43rd over bowled by Hasan, Yuvraj hit a near-yorker from the pacer down the ground for four. In the same over, he pulled a slower ball over square leg for a maximum. He raced to a 29-ball 50 by top-edging a bouncer off Wahaz for a boundary. Yuvraj's match-defining innings ended when he was trapped leg before by Hasan as he missed his flick and was caught in front of the stumps.