Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed produced a moment of sheer brilliance in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, delivering a dream ball to dismiss India’s in-form opener, Shubman Gill. The magical delivery came in the 18th over when India, cruising at 100/1 in their chase of 242, looked firmly in control.
Gill, who was batting effortlessly on 46, fell victim to a stunning carrom ball from Abrar. The delivery drifted in, landed perfectly on middle and leg, spun sharply past Gill’s outside edge, and rattled his off-stump. It was a near-unplayable ball, the kind needed to dismiss a batter in such sublime form.
Gill was left absolutely stunned, his reaction saying it all. Even Virat Kohli at the non-striker’s end acknowledged the brilliance of the delivery, nodding in approval. With this breakthrough, Abrar Ahmed provided Pakistan with a much-needed spark, keeping their hopes alive in the contest.
India crusing towards victory
Chasing 242 runs for victory, India got off to bright start before Shaheen Shah Afridi cut short Rohit Sharma’s innings. The Indian captain returned to the hut after scoring 20 runs off 15 balls. The left-arm pacer dished out a perfect inswinging yorker. During the course of his knock, Rohit Sharma surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the fastest opening batter in ODIs to go past the 9000 ODI runs mark.
Despite rohit’s dismissal, Shubman Gill attacked Pakistan bowlers before getting dismissed for 46 runs. The opener along with Virat Kohli stitched 69 runs partnership off 71 balls. Following his dismissal Kohli also reached his half century.
During his knock, Kohli etched his name in the record books, becoming the fastest batter to breach the 14,000-run milestone in ODIs. Needing just 15 runs to reach the mark before the game, Kohli brought up his milestone with a boundary against Haris Rauf. He also broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record in the process
