In a much-anticipated contest, India will lock horns against Pakistan in their second match of the ongoing Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday. While India won their opening game against Bangladesh by six wickets, Pakistan suffered a 60-run loss against New Zealand in the tournament’s opener.
Ergo, this will be a must-win contest for the Men in Green as a loss in this game will confirm their elimination from the eight-team tournament. Pakistan’s batting approach against the Kiwis was questioned by many cricket pundits and it will be interesting to note their intent against the arch-rivals.
Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy and thus Pakistan have added Imam-ul-Haq to their squad. Babar Azam was also criticized after he scored 64 runs off 90 balls against the Blackcaps.
However, Pakistan is always known to bring their best when they have their backs against the wall and India would not want to be complacent despite their impressive ICC record against the neighbours.
On the other hand, India would also be a bit concerned with their batting form as Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Axar Patel were dismissed cheaply against the Tigers. However, there were positives too as Shubman Gill scored a match-winning century whereas Mohammed Shami bagged a five-wicket haul.
The Men in Blue were also sloppy in the field as they dropped three chances and they will need to bring their best against Mohammad Rizwan’s team.
Match Prediction: India will enter the contest as favorites against Pakistan.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, 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.
