Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan admitted that his team failed to capitalise on winning the toss following their defeat against India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match on Sunday.
Rizwan stated that Pakistan aimed for a target of 280 runs but was restricted to just 240 runs after India’s bowlers dominated the middle overs.
"When Saud Shakeel and I were batting, our plan was to take the game deep, but our shot selection was poor, which cost us wickets at crucial moments," Rizwan explained. He acknowledged that Pakistan struggled to post a competitive total, being constrained by India’s bowling attack.
Rizwan also highlighted the performance of India’s batters, particularly Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill, who took the game away from Pakistan with their exceptional batting. "In ODI cricket, you have to perform in all three aspects," Rizwan admitted, underscoring his team's overall struggle in the game.
The Pakistan captain further emphasised the need to improve their fielding, pointing out recurring mistakes. “We have been making the same mistakes repeatedly, especially in fielding. We need to work on them moving forward,” he added.
Meanwhile, Indian captain Rohit Sharma praised his team’s collective effort in the win, crediting the performance of bowlers Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja for restricting Pakistan to a low score.
“Our bowlers did well to restrict Pakistan to a low score. The partnership between Saud Shakeel and Rizwan made things challenging, but we stuck to our plan,” Sharma said.
Sharma also lauded Virat Kohli for his match-winning knock, stating, “Virat batted brilliantly today, but none of us in the dressing room are surprised by his performance.”
