India secured a second consecutive victory in the Champions Trophy 2025. The team defeated Pakistan in a one-sided match by six wickets. This defeat on Sunday enraged Pakistani fans. Some fans even accused their team of factionalism. Mohammad Iqbal, who works in a hotel, said, ‘Players are coming into the team through recommendations. That's why we lost today.’ Meanwhile, Mubarak, who lives in Lahore, says, ‘There are personal show-offs in the team. That's why they lose.’ To gauge the mood of Pakistani fans during the India-Pakistan match, Bhaskar reporter Bikram Pratap Singh is in Lahore. He travelled through the streets of the city to reach the Press Club, where he met some businessmen, journalists, and students. Deserted Streets of Lahore to watch star players batting
The tension of the India-Pakistan match in Dubai was also visible in Lahore. After the toss, when the Pakistani team chose to bat, many streets of Lahore appeared deserted to watch their star players bat. Cricket fans stayed in their homes watching players like Babar, Rizwan, and Saud Shakeel bat, although all these batters disappointed their fans. The impact of the players' performance was reflected on the faces of the fans. Everything quiet after Virat's century
As soon as Virat Kohli completed his century with a four and sealed India's victory, silence spread across the Lahore Press Club. Everyone here was quiet, no one was even talking to each other. A student, Mohammad Ahad, said- Not all players from Pakistan played together; if they had played together, we could have won. Next time our team will also perform well. India won. This is also a matter of happiness for us. One team had to win. I think we should have bowled first. Local businessman Zulfiqar Ali said- I understand whether Pakistan lost or India won. It doesn't matter that much. I think the fact that both played a match against each other is a big thing. Both teams showed sportsmanship spirit. If Pakistan's bowlers wanted, Kohli wouldn't have scored a century. They could have bowled wide, but our bowlers didn't do that. This is a victory for sports. It's neither Pakistan's loss nor India's triumph. It's a victory for the people of both countries. Senior journalist Mansoor Bukhari said- I think Pakistan made a mistake by choosing to bat after winning the toss. On this ground, the team that chooses to bat after winning the toss often loses the match. We lost the match because of the toss decision itself. Pakistan also made a low score. India performed well, especially Virat Kohli. Lahore resident Zahid said- Our boys were new. There are flaws in our batting order as well. I don't know what happens that we lose to India. This is a game, wins and losses keep happening. We wanted to at least win against India. Often our batting order fails. In this match, the fielding was also poor. Our bowlers also did not perform as expected. At least 350 runs should have been made against India. Lahore resident Mubarak said- The Pakistani team has performed very poorly. The batting and bowling were weak. In the last match, Australia chased the biggest score. They fought and played till the end. Winning and losing is a matter of fate. Our players lost the match one-sidedly. It's not about batting or bowling first, we should play with heart. The team that plays with heart and works hard wins. Just look at the match with Australia. They achieved victory through hard work. If they work hard, they will win; if not, they won't. There are individual show-offs in the team. This is why they lose. Mohammad Iqbal, who works in a hotel, said- Our team scored very low. The bowling was not good either. We should not have batted first. If we had bowled, we could have chased. Players are coming through recommendations. Players who deserve to play do not get a chance. Hardik and Virat perform only against Pakistan.Original Article