🏏Champions Trophy 2025: Pakistan vs India, 5th Match, Group A🏏 - Page 4

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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?

All the best to team India

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.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana.

Pakistan

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

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. The mantra for Team India remains the same as the 2023 ODI World Cup - trust Rohit Sharma to get them a blistering start around which the rest of the middle order can capitalise, and then trust Mohammad Shami to step up in an ICC event.

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Hamza: "Nostalgia brings both sorrow and joy. As a Pakistani fan, my mind did not want this moment to come but my heart eagerly wanted. Time will tell If my mind was right or the heart."

India go in as favourites as they have been for a while against Pakistan. Both because they are stacked with some of the most talented players - not least Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill - and go in as tournament favourites. The absence of Jasprit Bumrah is a big miss, but their spinners are world class and have variety. Their middle order is arguably stronger than the top.