Imam and Babar Azam are at the crease. Imam is on strike. Shami will open the attack
Out walk the Pakistani openers now - it will be Babar and Imam today. A hot afternoon here in Dubai, and we have an almost fully packed stadium.
Both teams walk out for the anthems.
Stat: India have now lost 12 tosses in a row starting from the finals of WC 2023 - the LONGEST sequence for a team in ODIs. Previous longest: Netherlands (11 tosses between Mar 2011 & Aug 2013)
Pakistan (Playing XI): Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w/c), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
Rohit:
Rizwan: Will bat first, looks like a good surface. Want to put up a good target. Every match is important in ICC events, we will keep things normal. The boys are familiar with these conditions, we have done well here and we want to do our best today. We lost our last game, but it is past for us now. One change - Fakhar is out, Imam is in.
Pakistan have won the toss and have opted to bat
Toss Time! A loud cheer for Rohit Sharma. He will call and he calls HEADS.
Pitch Report | Ian Bishop and Sunil Gavaskar: "We are two pitches over from that game where India played Bangladesh. Overcast conditions - absolutely fine - about 31 degrees Celsius. Dimensions - 70m square either side, 81m down the ground. What we can expect is pretty similar to what we saw a couple of days ago. That time the pitch was on the slower side. The spinners kept it quiet in the middle overs. Whichever team that bowls well will be able to contain the batters. This is a pitch where it won't be easy to hit sixes. A score of about 270 should be a score you could defend."
Jasprit Bumrah is at the venue and meeting up with his teammates on the ground. That'll be a nice morale booster for the side ahead of this big clash.
India against Pakistan is generally a high stakes encounter, but this game today at the Ring of Fire could be all the more heated with so many political undertones beneath the cricket, and India having the chance to pretty much eliminate the reigning champions. Which side of the Radcliffe Line will be celebrating tonight?
Team India were tested a bit by Bangladesh in their opening game, but got through without too much of a fuss. They have a well balanced side with solid batting depth with s̶p̶i̶n̶n̶e̶r̶s̶ all rounders who can more than pull their weight with the bat in hand. A concern has been the form of the talismanic Virat Kohli, but he tends to reserve his best for the big occasion against the big rivals.
Pakistan are the defending champions in the Champions Trophy, but look a shadow of the side that clinched the trophy back in 2017. They are, in all fairness, one loss away from elimination after losing their opening game against New Zealand. Pakistan cricket has taken a bit of a nosedive in the past couple of years, with a loss to Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup and then a loss to USA in the 2024 T20 World Cup. They are on paper a much inferior looking side now compared to India, but the old adage of Pakistan cricket’s unpredictability still rings true. They can take some heart from the fact that they beat India in the last two games played in Dubai, albeit in a different format. With their backs to the wall, can Pakistan summon one big performance once again from their Babars, their Shaheens and their Rizwans to stay alive in the Champions Trophy?
11:30 Local Time, 07:30 GMT, 13:00 IST:
Preview by Vijay Tagore
The common refrain among teams ahead of Sunday's expected high-voltage clash between India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy is, "It's just another game." Players from both sides have sought to downplay the pressure factor that typically accompanies a match between these traditional rivals.
"It doesn't change anything for us, honestly. We play every match to win the match and this is no different for us. And that is how we are going to prepare for this one as well," India vice-captain Shubman Gill said on the eve of the game. "There is no extra pressure; we are relaxed. We will treat it as just another match," Harris Rauf remarked on the contest. It is unlikely the players are entirely honest about their mindset and mental approach, particularly the Pakistan players.
With their survival on the line, Pakistan's players are feeling the pressure from all sides. Their bowling and batting floundered in the tournament opener against New Zealand, leaving the Mohammad Rizwan side teetering on the cliff. The bowlers were way off the mark and the batters struggled to accelerate.
During their net sessions at the ICC Academy on Friday night, the bowlers focused on swinging the ball in, something that was invisible in their performance against New Zealand. The batters, on the other hand, were consistently attempting big shots and aiming to clear the boundary - something they had struggled to do in their previous match.
A sense of urgency was evident within the Indian ranks as well. Virat Kohli, short on runs of late, alarmingly sparking concerns over his batting technique, arrived at the academy an hour before his teammates. Accompanied by a pair of throwdown specialists - one left-handed and the other right-handed - with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak in tow, Kohli batted for an extra hour, noticeably determined to regain his former flourish, sparkle and confidence. Most importantly the trademark Kohli swagger and confidence that would be so inherent in his cover drives have been missing of late. He is not leaving anything to chance to regain the touch.
Going by numbers and recent form, India should be the clear favorites, having won five of the six encounters against the traditionals rivals since the 2017 Champions Trophy final. Overall, Pakistan lead the head-to-head record 73-57, but in the past decade - especially since the 2015 World Cup - India have lost only one match, the 2017 Champions Trophy final, while winning seven with one no result.
The form and record clearly indicate India as the favorites, but Sunil Gavaskar, speaking on a television show Friday, said that while he believes Rohit Sharma's men are strong favorites, it would be impudent to discount the fact that a single game-changing moment from either side could shift the balance. Who will that game-changer be?
When: February 23, 13:00 Local, 14:30 IST
Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium
What to expect: The weather forecast is bright and sunny and with little chance of dew coming in, the team winning the toss may choose to bat first.
Team News:
India
Rishabh Pant is down with viral fever but that is unlikely to impact the playing XI of the Indian side. Rohit Sharma is expected to go with the same team that did the duty against Bangladesh on the ground on Thursday. It means Harshit Rana will continue to be preferred to left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh with Mohammed Shami leading the bowling attack.
The conditions are expected to favour the slow bowlers but Pakistan coach Aqib Javed refused to change tactics and go with more spinners in the XI. He insisted that pace bowling is his team's strength and his side will go with three frontline pacers - Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf.
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
Did you know?
- Each of Pakistan's two wins against India in the recent past in ICC tournaments have come on the back of Pakistan seamers denting India in the Powerplay (Mohd Amir in CT 2017 final & Shaheen Afridi in T20 WC 2021).
- India have won 10 out of 13 ICC ODI matches against Pakistan but the rivals enjoy a slight a 3-2 W-L record against India in Champions Trophy making it the only ICC tournament where they have a positive W-L record against India.
- Gill currently has 2688 runs after 51 innings - the most by a player at that point. His average of 62.51 is the highest for any player while only Imam-ul-Haq (9) has scored more hundreds at the same point in his career.
What they said:
"I don't believe that over-hype or under-hype is a thing. India-Pakistan has a long history. It's an exciting contest when both these teams play. Everyone enjoys watching it. If so many people are happy to watch the match, then who are we to say that it is underhyped or overhyped? We go there to play cricket. Our effort is to play for the team I am playing for, to represent my country, and to win with all my heart." - Shubman Gill, on the rivalry between the sides.
"What is an India-Pakistan game without pressure? That is actually the beauty of it. You play 10 games and win all and there will still be pressure on the 11th game." - Aaqib Javed, on the the same topic of rivalry between the teams
Pakistan
India
