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Pakistan’s chances of advancing to the semifinals of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 have been significantly reduced after suffering a second consecutive defeat.
The hopes of Pakistan now rest on the results of the remaining ‘Group A’ matches of the tournament.
On Sunday, Pakistan lost to arch-rivals India by six wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
With two losses from two games, Pakistan’s path to the semifinals looks bleak, but mathematically, they are still in contention.
Captain Mohammad Rizwan’s side now needs a series of favorable outcomes to progress.
First, Pakistan will hope that Bangladesh defeats New Zealand on February 24 [Today]. Following that, Pakistan must beat Bangladesh on February 27 to boost their net run rate and secure critical points.
Pakistan also needs India to defeat New Zealand, leaving the Black Caps on two points with a worse net run rate.
If all goes in Pakistan’s favor, both Pakistan and New Zealand will have two points each, and the team with the better net run rate will progress to the semifinals alongside India who is currently topping the points table.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Points Table
| Group A | ||||||
| Teams | Match | Win | Lose | Net Run | Points | Net Run Rate |
| India | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.647 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.2 |
| Bangladesh | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.408 |
| Pakistan | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1.087 |
A day earlier, India’s Virat Kohli scored a brilliant century against Pakistan, supported by Shreyas Iyer’s 56, and chased down a total of 242 with ease, losing just four wickets in the process.
Shaheen Shah Afridi was the best bowler for Pakistan, claiming two wickets for 74 runs in eight overs. Abrar Ahmed had a solid performance with 1-28 from 10 overs.
Pakistan’s top scorers were Saud Shakeel, who made 50, and Rizwan with 46 runs. Kuldeep Yadav was the standout bowler for India, taking three wickets, while Hardik Pandya grabbed two.
