The biggest game in cricket is set to grace the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 when India take on arch-rival Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Despite Pakistan being the host, the 2017 champions have to travel to UAE for this game as India’s matches will be played in Dubai. Though the conditions shouldn’t affect either team’s preparations as both teams have plenty of experience of playing in these conditions. Also, playing conditions in Dubai are more or less like the sub-continent conditions. So the match would definitely start on the even playing field, and both teams will have an equal chance of winning this game once both teams line up for this highly-anticipated match.
Team Form
Pakistan endured a big defeat in the opening game against New Zealand. The 60-run margin has left a big dent on Pakistan’s quest to defend their title which they won in 2017, beating India in the mega final. Even before this game, Pakistan’s form was average to say the least. They lost the Tri-Nation series final match against New Zealand. They also lost the two-match test series 0-2 against South Africa, and could only draw 1-1 against West Indies at home.
The biggest concern for Pakistan is their form against Team India. Since beating India in the 2021 T20 World Cup, Pakistan have lost four straight matches against India.
Pakistan Form (ODIs): W L W L L
For India, it’s all about keeping up the good form. They are in incredible run of form in the white-ball cricket. The Men In Blue started their preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 with a 3-0 whitewash of England. Despite missing Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma’s team look a force to be reckoned with, even as a bowling unit.
But form goes out of the window in these kind of games. India’s last two defeats against Pakistan are a good indicator of that. India were clear favorites against Pakistan before the 2017 CT final and also in the 2021 T20 World Cup match, but the team ended up losing both those matches.
India Form (ODIs): L W W W W
India vs Pakistan Match Details
- Teams: India and Pakistan
- Date and Time: Sunday, February 23, @ 02:30 PM (IST)
- Stadium: Dubai International Stadium, UAE
India vs Pakistan Pitch Report, Toss Impact
Pitch Report: The pitch at the Dubai International Stadium is surely a spin friendly surface. Even the fats bowlers tend to bowl cutters and bowl slow at times to get the most out of the pitch. So expect spinners to dominate the proceedings in this highly-anticipated Pakistan vs India CT 2025 match.
Toss Impact: India’s match against Bangladesh was also played at the Dubai International Stadium and we saw that batting is slightly harder under lights. But there’s not much difference in the pitch behavior with the playing conditions likely to remain same throughout the match. That said, captain winning the toss should opt to bat first in this match.
ODI Stats at Dubai International Stadium
| Total Matches | 59 |
| Won Batting First | 22 |
| Won Batting Second | 35 |
| No Result | 2 |
| Average 1st Innings Score | 218 |
| Highest Score | 355/5 |
| Lowest Score | 91/10 |
India vs Pakistan: Dubai Weather Report
Weather Report: Since India vs Pakistan matches takes place only in ICC tournaments these days, fans of both these cricket giants always hope that the weather doesn’t play the spoilsport. This should be the case as there’s only 5-10% chance of rain in Dubai on Sunday, February 23.
India vs Pakistan Team News
India Team News:
- Jasprit Bumrah is not with the team as the star bowler is nursing an injury.
- From the last match against Bangladesh, India might still ring in a few changes despite winning that match comfortably.
- The only change could come in the bowling department, with Arshdeep Singh replacing Harshit Rana in India Playing XI vs Pakistan.
Pakistan Team News:
- Pakistan suffered a huge blow at the start of the match against New Zealand when Fakhar Zaman suffered an injury.
- The star batter has been ruled out of the team. Imam-ul-haq has been named as his replacement.
Players to watch out for in South Africa vs Bangladesh match
- Virat Kohli: There’s something special about Virat Kohli and big games. His record against Pakistan is also outstanding to say the least. The superstar batter is surely a player worth having in IND vs PAK Dream11 fantasy cricket teams.
- Babar Azam: Pakistan’s star batter did score a half century against New Zealand but he came under a lot of criticism for his strike-rate. But in Fantasy Cricket teams, it’s all about runs and wickets, and Babar is a run machine.
- Shubman Gill: The no-1 ODI batter in the world needs no introduction at all. He started the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in a magnificent way, scoring a wonderful century against Bangladesh.
- Salman Ali Agha: The 31-year-old all-rounder is definitely one of the most in-form players in Pakistan’s team. In his last four innings he has managed to score 40, 134, 45 and 42. He can also bowl in the middle-overs.
- Naseem Shah: Pakistan’s premium fast bowler has the skill-set to rip through any batting unit in the world. He will surely a force in this match and Indian batsmen have to remain on their toes when thr young bowler starts his run up.
- Axar Patel: Axar Patel is fast becoming a premium all-rounder. He is an incredible bowler in white-ball cricket, while his batting average is well above 35 when he bats at no-5.
- Hardik Pandya: Don’t count Hardik Pandya out. Mumbai Indians captains will be playing a crucial role in this game, especially with the ball.
IND vs PAK Expected Playing XIs
India Probable Starting XI vs Pakistan:
- Rohit Sharma
- Shubman Gill
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer
- KL Rahul (WK)
- Hardik Pandya
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Axar Patel
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mohammed Shami
- Harshit Rana / Arshdeep Singh
Pakistan Probable Starting XI vs India:
- Imam ul-haq
- Babar Azam
- Saud Shakeel
- Mohammad Rizwan (C/WK)
- Salman Ali Agha
- Tayyab Tahir
- Khushdil Shah
- Shaheen Afridi
- Naseem Shah
- Haris Rauf
- Abrar Ahmed
Australia vs England squads for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
India squad for ICC Champions Trophy: 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 squad for ICC Champions Trophy: 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.
IND vs PAK Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Team
- To be updated soon!
Follow Us on Instagram and X for regular updates.
