Rizwan Wins Toss, Pakistan Bats First in High-Voltage Clash
Mohammad Rizwan has won the toss and opted to bat first in the high-voltage Champions Trophy match.
Imam-ul-Haq, who was added to the squad as a replacement for the injured Fakhar Zaman, has also made it into the playing XI. The left-handed opener returns to ODI cricket after a long gap, and Pakistan has built their team around him for this crucial encounter against India. Meanwhile, India has stuck with their winning combination from the Bangladesh match.
The Group ‘A’ match is being played in Dubai on Sunday, where Rizwan, leading Pakistan, chose to bat first. Indian captain Rohit Sharma had no objections to chasing.
Fakhar Zaman suffered an injury while fielding in Pakistan’s tournament opener against New Zealand. Later, it was confirmed that he had a muscle strain, ruling him out of the entire tournament. Pakistan quickly named Imam as his replacement, and now, the 29-year-old batsman, who last played in the 2023 ODI World Cup, has also been included in the XI.
Pakistan faces an uphill battle to reach the semi-finals after losing their opening game to New Zealand. A win against India is crucial, and they will also need to beat Bangladesh to stay in contention.
India, on the other hand, is in a comfortable position. They secured a victory against Bangladesh in their first match and will confirm a semi-final spot with another win. With that goal in mind, India has decided to stick with the same lineup.
This is the sixth time India and Pakistan are facing each other in the Champions Trophy. Pakistan won their last encounter, defeating India in the 2017 final to lift the trophy. Overall, Pakistan has won three times in the tournament’s history, while India has won twice.
Playing XIs:
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (captain & wicketkeeper), Salman Ali Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.
