India and Pakistan will be up against each other in an ODI for the first time in 16 months as the Champions Trophy 2025 gathers pace. Pakistan kicked off their tournament with a defeat against New Zealand, their third against the same team in a span of a couple of weeks while India were able to earn a couple of points in their campaign opener against Bangladesh. It wasn’t the most convincing win but given the format of such a crisp tournament, India would take the two points however they come.

But one thing the first encounter proved is that it is not going to be a road in Dubai as far as batting is concerned and if done well, batting first might not be a bad option given the sluggish nature of surfaces. India had to work their way through a modest-looking chase while Pakistan are coming off a defeat where they fell short by 60 runs chasing 320 against the Black Caps. The quick adjustment to the nature of Dubai wickets will be key for Pakistan with only having a couple of days to prepare. Hence, India will be quietly confident of their chances.

Pakistan will be without their enforcer Fakhar Zaman at the top for the rest of the tournament and Imam ul Haq, his replacement will have his task cut out, especially after the slow start the hosts got in a chase of 300-plus. The intent from Pakistan batters will be spotlight especially since they will be under pressure from the outset of a must-win game.

My Dream11 team for ICC Champions Trophy Match 5, PAK vs IND

Imam ul Haq, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel (vc), Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Virat Kohli

Probable Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh/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