As has been the case in recent times in matches involving these two teams, India showed how much they have traveled as a white-ball group. (AP)How much did Pakistan miss a batsman of Virat Kohli’s caliber in the middle-order? How much did they wish they had openers like Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill who showed the urgency to kill the game in the first powerplay? Where are they going to unearth spinners who could collectively choke the opposition in the middle overs? Will their fast-bowling trio, often compared to those in the 90s, ever show there is more to them than numbers that pop on speed gun? When will they realise that unless their fitness parameters improve, they will continue to remain an ordinary fielding outfit that drops catches that could win them matches?If Pakistan do some soul searching, which they are likely to do once the confirmation arrives with regards to the elimination from the Champions Trophy, they need not look beyond India. Since winning the Champions Trophy final against India at the Oval in 2017, this was their sixth straight defeat in completed matches against their arch-rivals. At least till the rivalry retains its hype, it is pertinent Pakistan turns a corner sooner or later.“I think we could have won a bit earlier, could have been a convincing win based on how the wicket was playing,” Shreyas Iyer, who scored a handy 56, said. “It was initially coming on pretty well with the new ball and after that it was difficult to score runs when the ball got a bit old. But if we had played more aggressively we would have won a bit earlier I felt.”𝗞𝗢𝗛𝗟𝗜 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙𝗙 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗧𝗬𝗟𝗘! 💯@imVkohli takes #TeamIndia over the line, bringing his first-ever hundred in the #ChampionsTrophy, his 51st in ODIs, and 82nd across formats. 🙌Take a bow, KING! 👑#ChampionsTrophyOnJioStar 👉 #INDvPAK | LIVE NOW on Star… pic.twitter.com/pzUmDiAtyp— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 23, 2025As has been the case in recent times in matches involving these two teams, India showed how much they have traveled as a white-ball group. Pakistan, on the other hand, with their timid approach in the afternoon and listless bowling plans in the evening, showed they are stuck in a different era and lag far behind modern teams. That their captain Mohammad Rizwan called routine wins by New Zealand and India as brave showed they are in denial.And more than anything else, it is their batting that needs new heroes. Despite getting the chance to bat first on a pitch that was getting slower as the night progressed, it was India who out-batted them. On such pitches, teams seek runs against the new ball before they begin to accumulate in the middle overs in the hope of shifting gears in the later stages. But when Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam walked in, there was no such urgency. Of course, they scored more than they did so against the Kiwis in the opener, but 52/2 in the powerplay could have been better as India scored 64/1 in the same phase.As Rizwan said later, if they were indeed looking for a total of 270-plus, their middle order seldom came close to providing that momentum. Instead, alongside Saud Shakeel, Rizwan stitched a 104-run stand in 145 deliveries for the third wicket, which meant once India were well in the game once they removed the set batters. And Pakistan’s worst fears came true, when they lost three wickets in the space of four overs, and their No 9 Naseem Shah was out in the middle by the 43rd over.And who did the damage for India? It was their three all-rounders and a wily wrist-spinner – resources that Pakistan had during their heydays in the 90s. Against an Indian batting line-up that boasts of depth till No 9, a total of 241 was well below par.In the second half, it was the turn for India’s batsmen to deliver some brutal lessons. Despite having the disadvantage of batting second, it was admirable how India overcame the conditions, with the help of Pakistan’s attack. In the first match, Bangladesh attacked while defending 228, by taking pace off the ball and troubled India in the middle overs. But Pakistan, with just one specialist spinner, had to rely extensively on their pace trio in search of wickets that were hard to come by.Story continues below this adIt took a special delivery from Shaheen Shah Afridi to uproot Rohit Sharma’s stumps. And it took another unplayable one from Abrar Ahmed to dismiss Shubman Gill who looked set for another good score after being dropped by Kushdil Shah earlier. But beyond those two deliveries, not once they came close to troubling the likes of Kohli and Shreyas Iyer.When Iyer joined Kohli with 100 on board, Abrar was in the middle of a good spell. But at no time did they enter into a shell, like Pakistan’s No. 3 and 4 did. They used their feet and expanded their range to pick singles through the large gaps, and never let a bad ball go unpunished. As they picked pace, the writing was very much on the wall for Pakistan before Kohli nailed it with a boundary that also brought up his century.© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd