Champions Trophy, Confident India to face arch-nemesis Pakistan: Preview
What's the story
The much-anticipated Pakistan vs India match in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will finally take place on February 23 in Dubai.
The high-stakes encounter is expected to attract a lot of global attention given the age-old rivalry between the two cricketing powerhouses.
The upcoming match is especially important as it comes after Pakistan's defeat against New Zealand and India's win over Bangladesh in their respective opening games.
Here is the match preview.
Details
Pitch conditions, and streaming details
The pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium is expected to be slow.
The same was witnessed in India's opener against Bangladesh as the Tigers were bowled out for 228.
Rohit Sharma's men then comfortably chased down the target.
The match be live telivised on Sony Sports Network while Jiostar will provide the live streaming (2:30pm IST).
H2H
A look at their head-to-head record
As per ESPNcricinfo, Pakistan have three wins and two defeats against India in the Champions Trophy.
This includes the Men in Green's triumph in the 2017 CT final.
Pakistan are ahead in terms of overall ODI record as well, having won 73 games and losing 57 (NR: 5).
The arch-rivals last met in the 2023 World Cup as India claimed a massive seven-wicket win.
Meanwhile, the two teams have clashed twice in Dubai in ODIs. India prevailed on both occasions.
Venue agreement
India-Pakistan matches to be held at neutral venues
The decision to host all of India's matches in the UAE, and not Pakistan, was taken after an agreement between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the International Cricket Council (ICC), and Pakistan.
The parties agreed that both nations would play all ICC events hosted in either country at neutral venues till 2027.
This was done due to security concerns after an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus in Lahore in 2009.
Tournament history
India's triumphant start to the tournament
Under Rohit Sharma, India hopes to add another Champions Trophy title to their 2002 and 2013 victories.
The team dominated Bangladesh in their opening match and pulled off a win, courtesy of Shubman Gill's century and Moahmmed Shami's fifer.
Meanwhile, Pakistan suffered a 60-run defeat against the Kiwis in the tournament opener.
Key players like Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi are expected to play crucial roles in Sunday's match against India.
Information
Imam comes in for Fakhar
Pakistan's opening batter, Fakhar Zaman, has been ruled out of the tournament with an injury. Imam-ul-Haq has been approved by the ICC as the opener's replacement. The latter is expected to open alongside Babar Azam in the upcoming game.
XIs
Here are the probable XIs
India (Probable XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana.
Pakistan (Probable XI): Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Stats
A look at the key players
In 16 ODIs against Pakistan, Virat Kohli has returned with 678 runs at a tremendous average of 52.15.
Meanwhile, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma owns 873 ODI runs against Pakistan at 51.35.
Kuldeep Yadav owns 12 ODI wickets vs Pakistan at 14.16.
Shaheen Afridi has claimed 21 wickets across 10 ODI games since 2024.
Babar Azam owns an ODI average of 57.17 in Asia.
Poll
