Kolkata – 22/02/2025
The countdown has begun for one of the most awaited matches of cricket as Pakistan is about to face India with hopes of defeating India to stay alive in the competition of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. For the first time since 1996, Pakistan is hosting an ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but the condition of Pakistan is not really good in this tournament after losing their first match of the tournament against New Zealand. IND vs PAK Champions Trophy 2025 match is a must-win game for PAK.
Pakistan will take on arch-rivals India in the fifth match of the Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on February 23, 2025. A loss for Pakistan could mean an early exit from the competition, making this a do-or-die battle for the hosts of this Champions Trophy 2025.
This match is also important for India after a convincing win against Bangladesh. India will be looking to win this match and increase their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals before facing New Zealand in their third and last match of the group stages of the tournament. India wouldn’t like to lose this match because if India loses this match, then both Pakistan and India will be in a similar position in this tournament.
Table of Contents
Pakistan Defeated India in the Finals of the Champions Trophy 2027
India will also look to settle old accounts of defeat with the Pakistani Team, where in the Champions Trophy of 2017, Pakistan defeated India in the finals. This upcoming match won’t be less than a final match for Pakistan in which India will be looking to defeat Pakistan and throw them out of the competition. This tournament has already become like a proper knock-out tournament for Pakistan.
Head-to-Head Record: India vs Pakistan in Champions Trophy History
Total Matches Played: 5
India Wins: 2
Pakistan Wins: 3
Head-to-Head Record: India vs Pakistan in ODIs
Total Matches Played: 135
India Wins: 57
Pakistan Wins: 73
No Result: 5
Pakistan has won more matches in the head-to-head history of the Champions Trophy and ODI against India. So, will India narrow the gap of winning against PAK in the ODI and in the Champions Trophy, or will Pakistan extend their lead of winning more matches in this tough rivalry between the two countries in this sport?
It’s most probable to say that India is going to win this match in the end, even if Pakistan can manage to give a tough competition. There are a few reasons for this.
Champions Trophy 2025: Why can’t Pakistan Win this Match Easily, & Why can India win this match against Pakistan?
Comparison of Batting, Bowling, Fielding and Captaincy
Batting Comparison of India and Pakistan:
India: India’s journey in the Champions Trophy 2025 started on a high note. They just crushed Bangladesh with a 6-wicket win because of their overall team performance. Indian batsmen are looking in great touch as Rohit got a good start, while Virat and Shreyas also looked good. Shubman Gill had scored an unbeaten 101* runs to chase down the target of 299 runs with 21 balls to spare, along with KL Rahul who was also unbeaten till the end of the innings. Also, there is depth in India’s batting line-up as except for 3 players who are regular bowlers in the team, 8 players are capable enough to score runs as batsmen when India will need them to score runs.
Pakistani: top-order batsmen can’t really score with a high strike rate, as we saw in the last match of Pakistan against New Zealand. “Even Pakistan doesn’t have their first-choice openers in their team as they are injured, and Pakistan doesn’t have match winners, especially in the batting department of the team. Said former Pakistani captain ‘Shahid Afridi’.”
Bowling Comparison of India and Pakistan:
India: India’s bowlers are also looking in great form; it will be more tougher for Pakistani players to score against Indian bowlers. In the pace bowling department, Mohammed Shami will be the biggest threat to Pakistani bowlers during the batting power-play and during the middle overs, spinners will create problems with their sharp turn against Pakistani batters on Dubai’s flat and turning pitch.
Pakistani: Pakistani bowlers are not really able to bowl with consistent intent throughout the 50 overs of the game. Pacers or spinners, both bowlers were not able to stop the opposition from scoring runs in the middle overs and in the death overs of the match.
Fielding Comparison of India and Pakistan:
India: The fielding department of the Indian team is good, but in the last match, two easy catches were dropped by Rohit and Hardik, which is not really the usual thing to expect from this Indian side, as they are also known for their excellent fielding efforts. Against Pakistan it can be said that Indian fielders won’t make fielding errors on the field as per the importance of the match.
Pakistani: One more reason is that the fielding department of Pakistan is really poor, and a poor fielding performance allows batters to score faster without building any pressure on batters. There are probable 5-6 bad fielders in the Pakistani team who are allowing batters to convert singles into doubles. This fielding performance of any team is very crucial while playing against such a strong team like India.
Captaincy Comparison of India and Pakistan:
India: The overall captaincy of Rohit Sharma is appreciable, as under Rohit’s leadership, India won the last ICC T20 World Cup in 2024. Also, Rohit led India to the finals of the 50-overs World Cup back in 2023 without losing any single match in that World Cup. Even in the first match of India in this tournament, Rohit has used his bowlers in an effective way to make it tough for opposition batters to score runs easily, along with setting up the field really well. His captaincy is also very crucial to defeat Pakistan in the match.
Pakistan: Bad decisions by the Pakistani captain, as Pakistani captain Mohammad Rizwan was not able to use their bowlers at the right time and in the right way, led to a huge target for Pakistan at the end of the first innings of the match.
Champions Trophy 2025: Pitch Report IND vs PAK
The pitch at Dubai International Cricket Stadium will have some benefits to offer fast bowlers in the early overs of the match, as seen during India’s game against Bangladesh. Seamers are expected to dominate the initial stages. But as the match progresses, the surface will start getting batter-friendly with consistent bounce and pace. Which will make it really easy for batters to score runs in the later overs of the game. But still, spin bowlers will get benefit from this pitch if they can bowl at the right spot with the right speed to get a grip on the surface and turn the ball to make it difficult for batters to score runs easily while taking wickets.
Toss Factors: Batting or Fielding First in IND vs PAK
The history of Dubai’s Cricket Stadium indicates that the chasing team has won more matches on this pitch. Teams chasing a target have historically done well on this pitch. Out of 59 matches, the chasing side has won 35 times, while teams batting first have won 22 times.
We can expect that the toss-winning captain may choose to field first and then look to chase down the target.
But, as this is a big game for both teams, it is not like any other usual cricket match. It will be full of intense and high expectations from fans across both countries, so if the toss-winning captain chooses to bowl first and the opponent puts a big total on the board, then it won’t be easy enough to chase down a big target for the chasing team in such a high intense match.
Probable Playing XIs for India vs Pakistan
India’s Probable XI:
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.
Pakistan’s Probable XI:
Imam-Ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (C & WK), Salman Ali Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf.
Champions Trophy 2025: Squads of India & Pakistan
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed 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.
Match Details: IND vs PAK Champions Trophy 2025
Date: February 23, 2025
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Toss: 2:00 PM (local time)
Match Start: 2:30 PM (local time)
Where to Watch IND vs PAK Champions Trophy 2025
TV Broadcast: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi
Online Streaming: JioHotstar app and website
