Rizwan vs. Rohit - Pakistan and India Prepare for Epic Champion Trophy Clash
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Pakistan vs. India Showdown Headlines Group A of the Champions Trophy
As if the stakes were not high enough between these two cricket-mad nations, tensions were ramped up even further over the last few weeks when the ICC announced that India’s matches at the 2025 Champions Trophy would be played in Dubai. The reason for this was India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan to participate in the competition and it’s fair to say the decision did not go down well with the Pakistan Cricket Board or fans given that this is the first tournament being hosted in the country in over 30 years.
The rivalry between Pakistan and India stems from longstanding political tensions between the two nations’ governments that trace as far back as 1947, while the on-field battles began in 1952-53, with Pakistan touring India for their first five-match Test series. Over the years, wars have torn ties between the two countries and for decades matches between them were forced to be played at neutral venues due to security concerns - as is the case for the upcoming encounter on Sunday.
India have won the Champions Trophy twice in 2002 and 2013, while Pakistan claimed their first title in the last edition in 2017 in England when they beat the Men in Blue by a whopping 180 runs. In all, these two have faced off five times in the Champions Trophy over the years and it is the Shaheens who hold the advantage, having won three games compared to India’s two. Pakistan won the first two encounters in 2004 and 2009, while India secured the 2013 and 2017 meetings, with the latter being in the group stage before their defeat in the final of the same competition.
Since then, the Blue Shirts have gone on to enjoy tremendous success in all formats of the game. They contested the World Test Championship and ODI World Cup against Australia and also became only the third nation after West Indies and England to win two T20 World Cups, doing so on home soil last year. Pakistan, on the other hand, have faced difficulties over recent years. The Green Shirts bowed out in the group stage of the T20 World Cup, during which they were beaten by a tier two USA, while they also lost their first-ever Test to Afghanistan in the last year.
Leading up to the epic showdown between these two sides, India are the clear favourite to win the match owing to their well-balanced side that oozes talent right from the opening pair of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. However, the Men in Blue are missing star paceman Jasprit Bumrah, who was omitted due to injury. Pakistan have a few class acts in their ranks as well in Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, the latter of whom is ranked the number-one ODI batsman in the world. The Pak-Ind match promises to be a high-octane clash and one not be be missed. The big question is - who will come out on top in the greatest sporting rivalry of all time?
