Dubai [UAE], Feb 23: The captain of Pakistan, Mohammed Rizwan, won the toss and chose to bat first against their longstanding rivals, India, in their second meeting of Group A at the Dubai International Stadium this Sunday.
Today, Team India is set to face off against their arch-rivals Pakistan in what could be a crucial Group A match, aiming to secure their place in the semifinals of the ongoing tournament.
In their last Champions Trophy encounter, which was the final in 2017, the Indian team, led by Virat Kohli, suffered a heavy defeat to Pakistan, being bowled out for just 158 while chasing a daunting target of 338 runs, which Pakistan achieved with a brilliant century from Fakhar Zaman.
The players who experienced that heartbreaking loss are likely to remember it vividly, and fans will undoubtedly enjoy every moment of a potential Indian dominance over Pakistan with both bat and ball.
“We’ll bat first as it seems like a good pitch. We aim to set a formidable target. Each match holds significance in ICC events, so we’ll maintain our usual approach. The players are used to these conditions and have performed well here, and we will strive to excel today. We lost our last match, but that’s behind us now. There is one change—Fakhar is out, and Imam is in,” Rizwan stated after the toss.
On the other hand, India’s skipper Rohit Sharma mentioned that there were no changes in their lineup for this match.
“It doesn’t matter much; they won the toss and will bowl first. The surface appears similar to our last game, tending towards the slower side. Our batting unit is experienced, and we know how to handle slower pitches. We need a well-rounded performance from the team with both bat and ball. The previous game wasn’t easy for us, which is valuable. It’s good to play under pressure and challenge ourselves. We’re fielding the same team,” Rohit noted.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav
Pakistan (Playing XI): Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk/c), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed. (AGENCIES)
