Pakistan will face arch-rivals India in a crucial Champions Trophy match in Dubai today, Sunday, February 23.
Publish dateSunday 23 February 2025 - 11:46
According to Amac News, the 25,000-capacity Dubai International Stadium is expected to be packed, with hundreds of millions more watching on television.
India and Pakistan only meet in multi-nation events due to political tensions, and the match is being held in Dubai after India refused to travel to host Pakistan.
Pakistan will be under pressure in the match after Mohammad Rizwan's team lost the opening match of the tournament in Karachi by 60 runs to New Zealand and will need to beat defending champions India to stay in the semi-finals.
New Zealand top Group A and India, who beat Bangladesh by six wickets in their last match, are second. Pakistan are currently fourth and bottom of the group. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
"After losing one game, this is another good opportunity for you to win and win the third game and reach the semi-finals," Pakistan coach Aqab Javed told reporters on Saturday. "Between India and Pakistan, it doesn't matter whether it's a knockout match or anything else. It's more than a game and that's the beauty of India-Pakistan cricket," he added.
Pakistan suffered a major blow in their latest loss when one of their best players, Fakhar Zaman, was injured. Fakhar Zaman was ruled out of the tournament but Javed said he would field a "good and strong" team.
Imam-ul-Haq has been added to the squad, replacing Fakhar Zaman, who beat India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.
This was India's last ODI defeat against Pakistan and since then, they have won five of their last six matches against their arch-rivals. Their last meeting was in the 2023 World Cup in Ahmedabad, where India won by seven wickets.
An Indian victory could move them closer to the semi-finals, but India's vice-captain Shubman Gill warned of the possibility of his team being complacent, saying: "We have definitely played good ODI cricket and Pakistan have lost some of their recent matches badly, but we don't want to treat them as a lesser team."
Pakistan and India, both nuclear-armed, have fought three wars since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 and the rivalry is often reflected on the cricket field. The deteriorating political relations between the countries mean that the long-time rivals have not played a bilateral cricket series in more than a decade. India last visited Pakistan in 2008 for the Asia Cup.
India and Pakistan only meet in multi-nation events due to political tensions, and the match is being held in Dubai after India refused to travel to host Pakistan.
Pakistan will be under pressure in the match after Mohammad Rizwan's team lost the opening match of the tournament in Karachi by 60 runs to New Zealand and will need to beat defending champions India to stay in the semi-finals.
New Zealand top Group A and India, who beat Bangladesh by six wickets in their last match, are second. Pakistan are currently fourth and bottom of the group. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals.
"After losing one game, this is another good opportunity for you to win and win the third game and reach the semi-finals," Pakistan coach Aqab Javed told reporters on Saturday. "Between India and Pakistan, it doesn't matter whether it's a knockout match or anything else. It's more than a game and that's the beauty of India-Pakistan cricket," he added.
Pakistan suffered a major blow in their latest loss when one of their best players, Fakhar Zaman, was injured. Fakhar Zaman was ruled out of the tournament but Javed said he would field a "good and strong" team.
Imam-ul-Haq has been added to the squad, replacing Fakhar Zaman, who beat India in the 2017 Champions Trophy final.
This was India's last ODI defeat against Pakistan and since then, they have won five of their last six matches against their arch-rivals. Their last meeting was in the 2023 World Cup in Ahmedabad, where India won by seven wickets.
An Indian victory could move them closer to the semi-finals, but India's vice-captain Shubman Gill warned of the possibility of his team being complacent, saying: "We have definitely played good ODI cricket and Pakistan have lost some of their recent matches badly, but we don't want to treat them as a lesser team."
Pakistan and India, both nuclear-armed, have fought three wars since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 and the rivalry is often reflected on the cricket field. The deteriorating political relations between the countries mean that the long-time rivals have not played a bilateral cricket series in more than a decade. India last visited Pakistan in 2008 for the Asia Cup.
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Source : news agency wam
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