One of the most hyped clashes in the world of cricket will take place on 23rd Feb (sunday) in UAE. The clash is always house full and watched around the world. Indo-Pak rivalry is not something new.
In the past, Pakistan and India have played 135 matches against one another out of which Pakistan has won 73 matches while India has won only 57.
In the ICC champion’s trophy, both teams have faced each other for 5 times, out of which Pakistan has won 3 times while India has won 2.
Pakistan is the host of this tournament as well as the defending champion. They became the champion by defeating Team India in the final of Champions Trophy’s previous edition, played back in the year 2017.
India was the defending champion in 2017 while the efforts of PCT helped grab the title. Keeping in mind the previous battle, the Indian Team will be looking forward to taking their revenge while the Pakistan team will be looking forward to defend their title.
The match will take place at the Dubai International Stadium. The ground and pitch conditions suggests benefits for the team playing first innings and an expected average target would be 220-230. The team playing second innings might struggle with the bat and the average expected runs are between 170 and 190.
The pitch looks balanced – offering support to both the bowlers and batsmen. Pakistan is coming from an ODI series win from Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa while India is coming with a series win from South Africa and series defeat from Sri Lanka. Thus, the competition is going to be tough from both sides.
India team will be led by Rohit Sharma along with, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubham Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Muhammad Siraj, Ravinda Jadeja, Muhammad Shami and Kuldeep Yadav. They have other options in their squad as well. Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli are key players that have a record of taking away the match from Pakistan, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishab Pant, Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja are also very dangerous. Yashavi Jaiswal isn’t tested against Pakistan but also poses a huge potential.
Pakistan, on the other hand, will probably have Fakher Zaman along with Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Muhammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Kamran Ghulam, Irfan Khan Niazi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed in their playing 11. Saim Ayub hasn’t been tested against India yet and his current form makes him a danger for them. Pakistan has Shaheen Shah Afridi, Muhammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Naseem Shah and Fakhar Zaman that can lead the team to victory. In this clash, toss will also play a key role. Let’s hope to see a nail biting encounter between these two giants.
