Pakistan's captain Mohammad Rizwan is bowled out during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between India and Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)– Pakistan were off to a decent start, but lost two wickets just before the end of the first Powerplay. Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel immediately went into a shell. On the other hand, India, despite losing Rohit Sharma relatively early, didn’t hit the brakes too hard. Between overs 11-20, Pakistan scored just 27 runs and faced 36 dots (60%) while India scored 45 runs and played 25 dots (41.7%)– While Pakistan were able to gradually build in the middle overs, India triggered a collapse soon after. Set batters Rizwan and Shakeel were dismissed in back-to-back overs, just after the second drinks break. Pakistan went from 151/2 in the 34th over to 200/7 in the 43rd over. India, after Rohit’s cameo, had two match-defining partnerships that never allowed Pakistan a footing in the game.– Axar Patel’s direct hit to dismiss Imam-ul-haq was the highlight of India’s solid fielding effort. There were a couple of tough chances dropped but those didn’t prove costly, and India’s catching and ground fielding was in general of a high standard. Pakistan, however, dropped Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, and their athleticism on the field was questioned even by former captain Wasim Akram on air.– Iyer struggled at the start of his innings. Usually strong against spin, he had difficulty putting Abrar Ahmed away. At one stage, he was on 16 off 32 balls. But this was another area of difference. His start wasn’t dissimilar to Rizwan’s but Iyer showed he had gears to move through, as he raced through to a half-century. While Rizwam finished with a strike rate of 59.74, Shreyas ended on 83.58.– While India’s spearhead Mohammed Shami had an off day, the rest of the bowling unit collectively stepped up – all five of the other bowlers picked up wickets, with Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya being especially effective. For Pakistan, after one magic delivery from Shaheen Afridi to get Rohit, it was just Abrar who fought a lone battle. The spinner rightly received congratulations from Kohli for figures of 1/28.© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd