India vs Pakistan – The Battle Of Nerves
India, too, has had its share of injury concerns, with star pacer Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of the tournament.
Despite missing Bumrah, India’s bowling attack remains formidable, featuring the likes of Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Pakistan, staying true to their tradition, will once again rely heavily on their fast bowlers, likely fielding the pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah. They will be up against a well-settled Indian batting lineup, which includes Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and KL Rahul.
However, Pakistan’s squad composition raises concerns, as they have only one specialist spinner, Abrar Ahmed. In contrast, India deployed three spinners in their tournament opener, giving them an edge in the spin department.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total Matches: 135
Pakistan Wins: 73
New Zealand Wins: 57
No Result: 5
FORM GUIDE (Most Recent First)
Pakistan: L, L, W, L, W
India: W, W, W, W, L
Squads
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha (vc), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
BUILD-UP TO THE BIG MATCH
DUBAI: With only hours to go before the much-anticipated ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 showdown between arch-rivals Pakistan and India, the excitement has reached its peak, igniting passion on both sides of the border.
Pakistan, the defending champions, will have their work cut out as they carry a poor recent record against India, having won just one of the last eight completed ODIs between the two sides in the past decade.
India’s latest triumph over Pakistan came in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, where they dominated with a seven-wicket victory, chasing the target with 117 balls to spare.
Pakistan’s title defence got off to a rocky start with a heavy 60-run defeat against New Zealand in the tournament opener in Karachi. This makes their clash with India a must-win, as another loss could all but end their campaign.
On the other hand, India, playing all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai, justified their ‘favorites’ tag with a comfortable win over Bangladesh in their opening game.
