India beat Pakistan by six wickets in Dubai to hand the hosts their second consecutive defeat in the tournament. After this defeat, Pakistan is set to become the first team to be out of the Champions Trophy 2025.
For Pakistan, it was a new level of humiliation as they were the host nation and fought a great battle against the ICC and BCCI to host the tournament. But now, just five days after the kickoff of the tournament, Pakistan is on the verge of being eliminated from the tournament. However, there is a thin line of hope for Pakistan if the results of certain matches go in their favor.
Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan confesses the defending champions are all but out of the competition, despite their prospects now resting on several other outcomes going their way. Pakistan only has one game remaining against Bangladesh; thus, they must rely on other results in the group to advance to the final four.
For Pakistan, nothing is new in it, as it is a situation Pakistan has found themselves in frequently in ICC tournaments.
“We can say for now that it is over – that is the truth,” Rizwan said after the game. “We’ll see what Bangladesh does with New Zealand, then New Zealand with India, and then what we do. It’s a long road and it depends on other teams.”
“As a captain, I don’t like depending on others. If you are good enough, you show it by winning and keeping things in your hands. Waiting on other teams, I don’t like worrying about their results. What matters is that India and New Zealand beat us. They played strong cricket and we didn’t play well. If we get a chance [to sneak through] then so be it.” The captain of the host team said in a press conference.
Rizwan admitted that the team would have to face challenging questions regarding their performance here. If New Zealand defeats Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Monday, Pakistan will be eliminated from the ICC event before the knockout stage for the third time in a row.
Rizwan, who took over as white-ball captain late last year and led the team to bilateral ODI series victories in Australia and South Africa, has a tough battle to fight, as he has to recover his team’s confidence after recent losses—in a tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, as well as in their Champions Trophy games against New Zealand and India.
Pakistan has to play its probably last match of the Champions Trophy 2025 against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on 27th February.
read more: Virat Kohli Breaks Tendulkar’s Record for Fastest 14,000 Run
