India will aim to settle scores against Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy when the arch-rivals face at Dubai Cricket Stadium on Sunday (February 23) in a high-octane Group A clash. Runners-up in the last edition of the tournament in 2017, Pakistan are in must-win situation after losing the opener against New Zealand.
On the other hand, India are in a better place, having won against Bangladesh. India need just a win to seal their semifinal spot. A slip-up against India will mean Pakistan take exit route in just four days.
While India aren’t likely to tinker with their winning combination, there might be a toss-up between Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy, if at all Rohit Sharma’s men wants any variety.
On the other hand, Pakistan will make atleast one change after Fakhar Zaman injured himself against New Zealand and was ruled out of the tournament. Imam-ul-Haq has been called as a replacement.
India vs Pakistan Predicted XI
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav/Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami
Pakistan: Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (C & WK), Salman Ali Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy squad
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. 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
India vs Pakistan Dubai pitch report
Like in the previous contest between India and Bangladesh, the Dubai pitch is expected to offer assistance to both batters and bowlers. There could be early swing for seamers with the new ball while spinners will come into play in the latter stages of the game.
India vs Pakistan Dubai weather forecast
Although Dubai experienced rainfall prior to India’s opener against Bangladesh, the India vs Pakistan clash is expected to proceed without any rain interruption. However, the sky might get a cloud cover in the afternoon hours, the temperature will be ranging between 23 degrees to 31 degrees.
