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It is the biggest cricketing event on the annual calendar. It is the greatest rivalry in the sport. It is India vs Pakistan at an ICC world event. It is India vs Pakistan at the 2025 Champions Trophy on a Super Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The two teams will come into the mega contest with different mindsets. Hosts Pakistan were thrashed by New Zealand in their tournament opener whereas India were comfortable winners against Bangladesh in Dubai on Thursday.
What is the head to head record between the two teams at ICC events? How is India’s form in Dubai? What will India’s strategy be in the powerplay? Why are Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf so important for Pakistan? Is Virat struggling against left-arm spin? We look at some key insights which can potentially dictate the outcome of the match on Sunday.
INDIA’S STUNNING DOMINATION AT ICC EVENTS
India have dominated Pakistan in ICC events and have a 17-4 head to head record against their arch-rivals. Interestingly though, it is Pakistan who has the edge over India at the Champions Trophy with a 3-2 record. They hammered India by 180 runs in the final of the 2017 edition at The Oval – which was the last meeting between the two Asian giants in the tournament. 5-0
INDIA – FORM IS WITH THE MEN IN BLUE
India have annihilated Pakistan in the last five ODI meetings between the two units. Three of their wins have come by a margin of seven or more wickets. India smashed Pakistan by 89 runs in the 2019 World Cup fixture at Old Trafford
before humiliating them by 228 runs in the Asia Cup in Colombo in 2023.
INDIA HAVE NEVER LOST AN ODI IN DUBAI
India have played seven matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and won six of these encounters! They haven’t lost a single ODI at the venue. India played out a tie against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup in 2018 in Dubai. On the contrary, Pakistan do not have a great record at a venue which was, for the most of the previous decade their adopted home venue. They have won just eight (and lost 13) of the 22 ODI matches in Dubai.
GILL – PILING ON THE RUNS IN ODI CRICKET
Shubman Gill has had a stunning start to his 50-over career and piled on 2639 runs in just 48 innings at a strike rate of 101.65 since 2022. No batter has registered more tons than Gill’s eight in this time-frame. His average of 65.97 is also the highest amongst the 63 batters who have scored a minimum of 1000 runs in this period.
ROHIT SHARMA – LEADING A MINI-REVOLUTION AT THE TOP OF THE ORDER
Rohit Sharma has re-defined the batting template for India at the top of the order in white-ball cricket with the mantra on maximizing runs rather than on preserving wickets. He has led a mini-revolution in the powerplay and completely transformed India’s mindset and approach in limited-overs’ cricket. Rohit’s aggressive batsmanship in the first 10 overs was instrumental in taking India to the final in the 2023 World Cup at home. He also played a pivotal role in their triumph at the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. Rohit has a strike rate of 123.98 – the second-best in the powerplay only after Travis Head – in ODIs since 2023.
INDIA – ON THE RAMPAGE IN THE POWERPLAY
Led by the dynamic batsmanship of their skipper, Rohit Sharma, India have revolutionized batting in the powerplay in white-ball cricket since the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. India’s run-rate in the powerplay in ODI cricket has risen from 4.83 in 2022 to 6.39 in 2023 to 7.13 in 2024! It is not a coincidence then that they are the number one ranked ODI team in the world. It is a similar story in T20I cricket too.
HARIS RAUF – THE DEATH OVER SPECIALIST
No bowler from a major cricket-playing nation has picked more wickets than Haris Rauf’s 34 in the death overs in ODIs since 2021. Pakistan would hope for a better performance from their slog-over specialist than what he dished out against New Zealand in the opener – Rauf was hammered for 39 runs from three overs at the death in the encounter. Pakistan have conceded in excess of 100 runs in the death overs in their last three ODI encounters.
SHAMI – THE GREATEST WICKET-TAKER IN ODI HISTORY
Often labelled as a Test specialist, Mohammed Shami is an all-time great in ODIs where his bowling strike rate of 25.4 is the best ever in the format’s history (min. 150 wickets). Shami has the knack of picking wickets in heaps as he showcased against Bangladesh in India’s opener in the tournament in Dubai. During the course of his five-wicket haul, Shami became the fastest bowler to 200 ODI wickets in terms of balls delivered. The veteran Indian pacer reached the landmark in 5126 balls surpassing Mitchell Starc who took 5240 deliveries to reach the milestone.
SHAHEEN – ROHIT’S NEMESIS WITH THE NEW BALL
Rohit Sharma has had trouble against left-arm pacers who can swing and seam the new ball. His battle against Shaheen Afridi in the powerplay could potentially decide the outcome of the match on Sunday. The left-arm pacer has had the wood over Rohit and dismissed him four times in seven innings in limited-overs’ cricket. He has dismissed him two times in four matches in ODIs and twice in three innings in T20I cricket.
KOHLI’S STRUGGLE AGAINST LEFT-ARM SPIN
Virat Kohli has struggled against slow left-arm orthodox bowling in ODI cricket since 2022. He has been dismissed 10 times in 19 innings against their ilk at an average of just 24. His scoring rate is also below-par at 73. Kohli’s battle against Khushdil Shah will be an interesting contest on Sunday.
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