Arch-rivals collide in Sunday showstopper as part of ICC Champions Trophy 2025

It is that time of the year when the cricketing world will split itself into two factions as two of the biggest arch-rivals, India and Pakistan lock horns in Dubai as part of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. With contrasting fates preceding the two teams, this is going to be a vital clash with the fate of this game directly linking the qualification for the semi-finals.

India will be brimming with confidence after drubbing Bangladesh in the opener. It was an all-round show from the Men in Blue and they will be hopeful of replicating the same against their arch-rivals. With four ODI wins on the trot, Rohit Sharma and company will be eyeing for their fifth straight win, making the most of the positive headspace that they are currently in.

Pakistan will be desperately hoping to return to winning ways after losing three out of the last four ODIs. The momentum has been on the shorter side and with questions being raised about the batting combination of the Men in Green, they will hope to put up an improved show against India.

Pitch Overview:

The surface in Dubai is a slow track and will be assisting the spinners emphatically. The new ball will be moving around but once the lacquer wears off, it is going to be a lot easier for batters to deal with the seamers. As the game progresses, the surface will be getting slower with a trace of spongy bounce being exhibited in the earlier games which will only make batting a lot more difficult.

Match Details:

Match: Pakistan vs India

Venue: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai

Date: 23rd February, 2025

Time: 2:30 PM

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 135

India: 57

Pakistan: 73

Squads:

India:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy

Pakistan:

Mohammad Rizwan (c), Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi.