India Favourites Against Rattled Pakistan

India and Pakistan are set to face off in the Champions Trophy, with India being the clear favourites. The Indian team has won five of the six encounters against Pakistan since the 2017 Champions Trophy final, and their recent form and record indicate that they should be the ones to beat.

India's vice-captain Shubman Gill has downplayed the pressure factor, saying that they will treat the match as just another game. However, it's unlikely that the Pakistan players are entirely honest about their mindset, particularly with their survival on the line.

Pakistan's bowling and batting struggled in their tournament opener against New Zealand, and they will need to improve if they are to have any chance of winning. The Indian team, on the other hand, is feeling a sense of urgency, with Virat Kohli arriving at the academy an hour before his teammates to work on his batting technique.

The conditions are expected to favour the slow bowlers, but Pakistan coach Aqib Javed has refused to change tactics and go with more spinners in the XI. Instead, he will stick with three frontline pacers.

Match Details

• Date: February 23
• Time: 13:00 Local, 14:30 IST
• Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium
• Weather Forecast: Bright and sunny with little chance of dew coming in

Probable XIs

• India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana
• Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed