New Delhi: Form goes out the window whenever India and Pakistan face off on a cricket field. One of the two teams may have been playing better and have better players, but the intensity of the India-Pakistan match makes the opposition players raise their game, which means that all of these things count for nothing.
Even though a team, in this case, India, was in good form going into the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 game, form would have meant little. But that was not the case on Sunday.
India didn’t need to be at their best nor were they put under pressure in a lop-sided contest that turned out to be a no-contest with very few on-a-knife-edge moments. While India has been a better side on paper for a long time, Pakistan has always been a fierce competitor. On Sunday, the Men in Green simply didn’t turn up.
Analysing Pakistan’s crushing defeat: Reasons and implications
Pakistan, in a must-win game of their home tournament, showed little fight and competitiveness against an Indian team, that is without their biggest match-winner Jasprit Bumrah and a half-fit Mohammed Shami.
The constant changes in the management, board and team and the relentless scrutiny and criticism don’t help the players but the expectations of raising their game against India, their perennial rivals, are not lofty.
But what’s unfair is the expectations from players to produce the goods under an unstable environment in the cricket structure in the country.
Pakistan’s loss against India in Dubai came eight years after the historic win against Virat Kohli-led India in the Champions Trophy 2017 in London. Sure, they missed the aggression and positive mindset of Fakhar Zaman, India’s tormentor at the Oval but it almost seemed his absence took the wind out of Pakistan’s sails even before the match began.
But it’s only about the surrender on Sunday, Pakistan’s performances in the past few ICC events across formats signalled their steep and terminal decline. Pakistan are sitting at the bottom of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 table, have failed to reach the semifinals of the last three ODI World Cups, were knocked out in the last T20 World Cup, and now all but of their home tournament.
The defeat against India is a classic example of the sad state of affairs in Pakistan cricket. They didn’t lose because of carelessness, tardiness or lack of game awareness. They were simply not good enough.
The widening Gap: India and Pakistan’s unequal rivalry
This was not down to lack of game awareness or carelessness. They simply didn’t have the firepower and the game to play progressive cricket. Despite winning a good toss, deciding to bat first against a depleted Indian pace attack and setting a decent platform, Pakistan didn’t have the skill set to keep scoring at a good rate by playing percentage cricket. The high percentage of dot balls led to the fall of wickets as Pakistan failed to post a good score.
India were superior and Pakistan were nowhere near their best. It wouldn’t have mattered if they would have been. The only thing evident besides India’s dominating during the match was the widening gulf between the two great rivals.
India decisively defeated Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, highlighting a significant gap in performance. Despite a must-win situation for Pakistan, their lack of competitiveness was evident. India’s superior skill and Pakistan’s struggles contributed to the lopsided result. The match underscored Pakistan’s recent decline in various ICC events and the widening gulf between these two cricketing rivals. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
