Cricket’s biggest rivalry heads to Dubai
One of the biggest rivalries in cricket, if not the biggest, is all set to take place in Dubai as arch-rivals India and Pakistan gear up to take on each other in what promises to be a blockbuster clash at the Champions Trophy 2025. It will also be a repeat of the final of the Champions Trophy 2017 where Pakistan crushed India to secure the title and the Men in Blue will have a score to settle this time at the Dubai International Stadium.
Ahead of match 5 of the Champions Trophy 2025 between India and Pakistan, here’s our match preview and predictions.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025 | Match 5: India vs Pakistan | 14:30 IST, February 23
Rohit Sharma’s India started their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign with a relatively convincing win over Bangladesh in their Group A opening game. After being put to field first, the injury-returning Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana had the Bangladesh top order reeling at 26/3 before Axar Patel’s twin strikes in the ninth over put Bangladesh in an even worse spot at 35/5. While Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali helped Bangladesh get to a respectable total, the Indian bowlers, especially Shami and Rana were tight up front and at the death while the spin trio of Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav were miserly in the middle. Sharma’s only concern with the bowling department would be the inability to kill a game early on as some ordinary bowling and sloppy fielding saw Bangladesh go from 35/5 to 228.
With the bat, Rohit Sharma’s ultra-aggressive ODI approach continued as he raced away to a quick-fire 41, allowing Shubman Gill to settle in perfectly. While Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer missed out on getting some important time and runs in the middle, it was India’s Mr. Dependable – KL Rahul with Gill guiding India home with Gill’s sublime century helping India start their campaign with a six-wicket win.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s bowling unit leaked runs in their opening game against New Zealand, albeit in a different venue. Pakistan conceded 320 with their express pacer Haris Rauf going at over eight-an-over while Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah went over run-a-ball. The Pakistani spinners though, like the Indian spinners were tight and economical and will be playing a crucial role in Dubai. With the bat, barring Babar Azam’s hard-fought 64 and a fighting 69 from Khushdil Shah lower down the order, the Pakistani batters were undone mainly due to batting errors than New Zealand bowling well. Pakistan’s biggest concern would be Fakhar Zaman being ruled out of the Champions Trophy with the left-hand batter picking up an injury early on in the opening game.
Moving to Dubai, Pakistan know they are coming into conditions which are a lot like home and with the Pakistan team having played a lot international games in the UAE in recent times, it shouldn’t be alien conditions for the Champions Trophy hosts. The Dubai strip is a slow one with some grip and assistance for the spinners with the Men in Blue as overwhelming favourites to take a win in this blockbuster clash given their current form and squad strength
Fantasy XI: Shubman Gill, Babar Azam, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Salman Agha, KL Rahul, Mohammad Rizwan, Khushdil Shah, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Venue: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Winners Prediction: India
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