Champions Trophy, India vs Pakistan: Pitch report and weather conditions
What's the story
The much-anticipated India-Pakistan clash in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on February 23.
The match is extremely crucial for both sides, with Pakistan requiring a win after their loss against New Zealand.
Meanwhile, India are sitting pretty after their victory over Bangladesh in the tournament opener.
Here we look at the pitch and weather report for the game.
Pitch report
Pitch conditions for the India vs Pakistan match
The pitch at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium is expected to slow down as the day progresses, challenging batters to adapt against spinners.
As the game advances into middle overs, spinners are predicted to gain an advantage due to increased ball turn.
The same was witnessed in India's opener against Bangladesh as the Tigers were bowled out for 228.
Owing to the dew factor, the toss-winning skipper might elect to bowl.
Information
Do you know?
In the last 11 ODIs played at the venue, only once a team has managed to score more than 250 runs, as per ESPNcricinfo. Moreover, chasing teams have won seven of the last nine ODI games at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Weather update
Weather forecast for the India vs Pakistan match
The weather during the India-Pakistan match is predicted to be hot, with temperatures soaring to 33°C in the afternoon and dropping to around 26°C in the evening.
It will remain cloudy and warm throughout the day.
Unlike previous matches, there isn't much dew expected which could make batting under lights more difficult.
The good news for cricket fans is that no rainfall is predicted on Sunday.
Winning streak
India's recent victories over Pakistan in ICC events
India have been dominant Pakistan in the recent ICC events, having defeated their arch-rivals in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup.
The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team is already familiar with the conditions in Dubai. This could work in their favor on Sunday.
However, Pakistan demolished India in their last CT meeting, which was the final of the 2017 edition.
Team lineups
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.