India is set to lock horns with arch-rivals and host Pakistan in the highly anticipated Champions Trophy clash at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
The game is a high-stakes battle for both teams, as while Pakistan will try to keep their title defence alive, India will aim to almost confirm its berth in the semis.
The game is also being touted as an opportunity for India to avenge the loss of the 2017 Champions Trophy Final when Virat Kohli’s men were deprived of putting their hands on the ICC trophy.
Unlike the 50-over and T20 World Cups, Pakistan holds a 3-2 advantage over India in the Champions Trophy. The most notable encounter remains the 180-run triumph in the 2017 Champions Trophy final, which makes Sunday’s game even more exciting for fans from both sides of the border.
It is pertinent to note that Pakistan’s win in 2017 came during the peak of star India batter and former India captain Virat Kohli, at a time when no target was considered too much for the team. Virat, who holds a great record against Pakistan, will look forward to returning to his old colours in the all-important game.
Pakistan will fly to Dubai after conceding a 60-run defeat against New Zealand in the tournament opener in their backyard.
There were plenty of issues visible on the ‘Men in Green’ side. From ace pacers, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah struggling to pick up wickets in powerplay and the bowlers failing to restrict runs in the death overs, to the batters failing to build partnerships and some big names like Babar Azam, skipper Rizwan struggling for form. Pakistani side’s problems have further been compounded by Fakhar Zaman — hero of the 2017 CT final — being ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
On the other hand, Team India will come riding high on confidence after a convincing 6-wicket win against Bangladesh in their campaign opener.
The ‘Men In Blue’, however, will have to be in its top form heading into the match. While India was able to inflict a strong top-order collapse restricting Bangladesh to 35/5, it allowed the opponents to escape a 154-run stand between Jaker Ali and Towhid Hridoy took Bangladesh to a respectable total of 228 runs.
Also during the run-chase, India struggled against Rishad Hossain’s spin and was reduced to 144/4 during the run-chase, from where the game could have gone either way. Virat Kohli in particular struggled against spin, taking 10 balls to open his account and scored only a sluggish 22 off 38 balls, before perishing to spin.
While stars have aligned more often than not for India’s top stars against Pakistan in recent years, they will have to find a way to deal with the fiery pace of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah and the crafty spin bowling of Abrar Ahmed and Salman Agha and a rock-solid batting line-up headlined by Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan.
Also, the absence of Jasprit Bumrah will give Pakistan an added motivation to go hard against India, who have an inexperienced fast-bowling line-up headlined by Mohammed Shami, the veteran who has just made a return from an injury that sidelined him for more than a year, and young Harshit Rana.
Sunday’s game might effectively decide the fate of the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy, and fans will be looking forward to a nail-biting encounter between the two arch-rivals.
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. (ANI)
