In fifth over of the second innings, Shaheen Shah Afridi claimed a crucial wicket and removed Rohit Sharma.
Pakistan set a 242-run target for India to win in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 clash in Dubai.
All players from the Pakistan side were bundled out for modest 241 runs.
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first against India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Babar Azam scored 23 runs before heading to the pavilion. After Babar, Imam-ul-haq scored only 10 runs and fell.
After that, the partnership between Rizwan and Saud Shakeel kindled hope as they attempted to add scores to Pakistan. Rizwan scored 46 runs off 77 deliveries, while Saud Shakeel made 62 runs from 75 balls.
Later, Axar Patel delivered a key blow for India in the 34th over, dismissing Mohammad Rizwan for 46 and breaking Pakistan s solid partnership. Saud Shakeel was dismissed by Hardik Pandey.
In the history of sports, this match between arch-rivals is considered one of the most intense clashes.
Since 1952, the India-Pakistan cricket rivalry has continued to captivate fans across the world.
In the most recent World Cup 2023 encounter, India cruised to a seven-wicket victory. However, Pakistan has historically shown the knack for delivering strong performance in high-pressure moments.
Currently, Pakistan falls in the Group A, which is set to take on India after losing to New Zealand. Earlier, India started their campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy with a striking victory against Bangladesh.
Earlier, Pakistan head coach Aaqib Javed expressed confidence, placing his faith in his pace attack.
Talking to reporters, the former pacer compared the trio (Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf) to the formidable Wasim Akram-Waqar Younis attack of the 1990s, expressing confident that they would rise to the occasion.
"We have three specialists, and I would say one of the best pace bowling options in today’s game," he remarked.
Due to an injury, Fakhar Zaman is not the part of the Pakistani squad. Imamul Haq has replaced Zaman in Pakistan camp. Imam has delivered 3138 runs in 71 ODI innings for Pakistan, crafting 9 centuries and 20 half-centuries.
On the other hand, India focused on the business as usual. Indian vice-captain Shubman Gill, smashed a century against Bangladesh, downplayed the hype surrounding the match.
It is worth noting that Pakistan and India have faced each other five times in the Champions Trophy in the past, with Pakistan having the upper hand so far. However, the upcoming match in Dubai will reveal whether Pakistan’s dominance continues or not.
In the 2004 match played in Birmingham, Pakistan beat India by 3 wickets. In 2009, Pakistan won by 54 runs in a match played in Centurion.
However, India won the tournament by 8 wickets in the 2013 in Birmingham.
Once again, in the Champions Trophy final 2017, Pakistan hammered India by 180 runs to win the tournament.
Pakistan squad
Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice captain), Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Kamran Ghulam, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed.
India squad
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy.
