New Delhi: India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the much-anticipated clash of the ICC Champions Trophy at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Rohit Sharma-led India started their campaign with a comfortable six-wicket win over Bangladesh on Wednesday. On the other hand, hosts Pakistan suffered a 60-run loss against New Zealand in the tournament opener in Karachi earlier this week.
It will be a must-win encounter for defending champions Pakistan to stay in the hunt for the semi-final from Group A while a win for India will almost secure a last-four berth in the eight-team spectacle.
In their last ODI meet in the 2023 World Cup in Ahmedabad, India registered an emphatic seven-wicket win as captain Rohit and Shreyas Iyer scored half-centuries to keep their winless record intact in the tournament.
Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who returned to international cricket just before the World Cup after a more than a year injury hiatus, along with Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya made sure to back their captain’s call to bowl first. The trio picked two scalps each to bundle out the visitors for a paltry 191. The Indian spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja also shared four wickets between them.
However, India faced a setback in their last clash against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy as they lost the 2017 title clash at The Oval to miss out on their second silverware in the tournament.
Meanwhile, India have a psychological edge of staying unbeaten against Pakistan in the last six ODIs (including the 2023 Asia Cup group stage washout) since 2018.
The two sides last played against each other in the 2024 T20 World Cup group stage match in New York. Men in Blue dominated the encounter and won by nine runs as Jasprit Bumrah returned with the figures of 3-14 to bag the Player of the Match accolade. India went on to win the title, beating South Africa in the final to lift their second T20 World Cup trophy after 2007.
Here’s all you need to know ahead of India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy clash:
When: February 23, Sunday
Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Time: The match is scheduled to begin at 2:30 pm IST while the toss will take place at 2 pm.
Broadcast details: India vs Pakistan will be broadcast on Star Sports Network.
Live Streaming: India vs Pakistan will be live-streamed on JioHotstar.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (c, wk), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
(IANS)
