Fact Check: India-Pak Champions Trophy cricket match— ‘Jai Shree Ganesh’ song played at Dubai stadium? Here’s the truth

Hyderabad: It was the classic Virat Kohli that the Pakistan cricket team had to contend with in Dubai during their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match against India on February 23. The 36-year-old once again proved his mettle, scoring his 51st ODI century and guiding India to victory. Kohli paced his innings perfectly, helping India chase down a target of 242 with six wickets and 45 balls to spare. As the contest neared its conclusion, all eyes were on whether he could reach his century before India completed the chase. He did both, hitting the winning runs with a four and finishing unbeaten on 100 off 111 balls.

Amid the celebrations, a video surfaced on social media claiming that the ‘Jai Shree Ganesh’ song was played at the Dubai International Stadium after India’s victory over Pakistan on Sunday.

The viral video comprises two different clips edited together. One clip shows a lighting display with spectators clapping. The second clip features spectators holding up their mobile phone torches while the match is in progress.

An Instagram user shared the video with the caption, “Greater motivation than this cannot be found anywhere. All the fans and the public performed Ganesh ji Aarti at Jamtha Stadium.” A text overlay on the video reads, “Ganesh Aarti was played after India’s win in front of Pakistan. India won by six wickets.” (Archive)

We also found another Instagram account that shared the video. Before it was deleted for copyright infringement, the reel garnered over 2.9 million views, 8,000+ comments and 472+ shares.

Similar posts can be seen here and here.(Archive1, Archive2)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The viral video is a combination of two separate clips from different stadiums and is unrelated to the India vs Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match.

Upon reviewing the comment section of the viral video, we found a comment by an Instagram user Sachintd43, who said that the viral video is a compilation of two different clips that he had shot and taken from his Instagram account.

The Instagram user, identified as Sanchit Desai in the profile, mentioned that the lighting show clip is from Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the stadium. The second clip, showing spectators holding their mobile phone torches, is from the India vs England third ODI in Ahmedabad.

First clip

To verify this claim, we checked Sanchit’s Instagram profile and found that the lighting show video with the ‘Jai Shree Ganesh’ song was originally posted on January 19, 2025. This extended video ended with showing Sanchit holding the camera and participating in the celebrations.

The caption read, “WHAT A VIBE!!!!! CANNOT BE ANOTHER PLACE OTHER THAN WANKHEDE STADIUM. (sic)” The visuals in this video match the first clip in the viral video.

A keyword search led us to similar videos of the Wankhede Stadium celebrations (here and here), confirming the video from the Wankhede Stadium's 50th-anniversary celebrations.

Additionally, an article published by Crick-it by Hindustan Times titled ‘Wankhede@50: Rohit eyes another ICC title celebration’ on January 19, 2025, reported that Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium marked its 50th anniversary with grand celebrations attended by cricket legends like Rohit Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar.

Second clip

The second clip in the viral video was also found on Sanchit’s Instagram, posted on February 13, 2025, with the caption, “Maa Tujhe Salaam in Ahmedabad. Always a beautiful experience whenever this is played in any stadium in the country.” This extended video shows the ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ song being played while a match is going on.

In this clip, a large screen in the stadium displayed the match score as ‘England at 175/8 in 30.3 overs.’ Sanchit mentioned that the video is from the India vs England third ODI at the Narendra Modi International Stadium in Ahmedabad.

To further confirmation, we conducted a keyword search and found the live commentary of the India vs England third ODI in Ahmedabad at 30.3 overs. The score at that point was indeed 175/8, matching the display in the viral video. Notably, at 30.3 overs, England’s Adil Rashid was dismissed, and India went on to win the match by 142 runs.

We also reached out to Sanchit, and he has confirmed that he is the one who shot the videos.

Therefore, the viral claim is false. It is a combination of clips from two different stadiums and has no connection to the India vs Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match played on Sunday.