India vs Pakistan Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Mr. Mohsin Naqvi, met the entire team in Dubai last evening and instructed them to ‘beat India at any cost’. The directives weren’t out of spite towards India but purely due to the Pakistan team’s situation. A loss here will likely knock them out of the Champions Trophy, making the India clash a do-or-die game for Rizwan and his team. For all the criticism this team has faced, a morale-boosting win can be just the tonic the doctor ordered for the Pakistan team.

India vs Pakistan Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: WOAH! The India vs Pakistan contest is set to reach a fever pitch as none other than MS Dhoni, is believed to be in attendance for Sunday’s blockbuster. How do we know? Because Bollywood star Sunny Deol just said that he is ‘all set’ to watch the greatest rivalry with No. 7. And when it’s No. 7, you know, it’s always… THALA for a reason! But hang on. There’s a catch. The last time MS Dhoni was in the stadium for an India vs Pakistan match – as mentor in the 2021 T20 World Cup – it didn’t really go well. Hmmm… we’re just saying.

India vs Pakistan Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Given their outing against New Zealand in Thursday’s opener, it may seem so. Despite getting the BlackCaps three down, the Pakistan bowlers let the game slip away. The frustration was visible on Rizwan’s face, who was more than just a little animated towards his bowlers. Shaheen Afridi went wicketless for 68 in his 10 overs, Naseem picked 2/63 and Haris Rauf bled 83 for 2 wickets. Surely, this isn’t the same Pakistan trio that once sent shivers down the opposition’s spine. Will the real Pakistan pacers please turn up?

India vs Pakistan Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Two words. Mohammed Shami. The guy was out of action for a long time for sure, but if this is how he had to return, then be it. Shami is the perfect example of ‘good things take time’. Sidelined from the team for almost a year, Shami underwent surgery, rehab at NCA, cut down eight, showed discipline in his eating habits and what not? And the result is right before you: In his first match of the Champions Trophy, Shami roared with a five-wicket-haul. This is how injuries are dealt with. India missed Shami in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but in the long run, it was a wise decision not to rush him bak. For Pakistan, there is no respite. Because if Bumrah doesn’t get you, Shami will.

India vs Pakistan Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: The memories of Shaheen Afridi steaming in and dismissing Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli three years ago are probably still fresh in the minds of Team India. Because despite having faced the Pakistan left-arm a few times since then, India summoned a left-arm pacer from Dubai to bowl to Rohit and Kohli especially. Awais Ahmad, who has a special connection with Pakistan and hails from the same district as Naseem Shah, bowled some vicious inswingers to the Indian batting duo. How did the whole thing come about? Read below…

India vs Pakistan Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Alright! Let’s get down to business. Which 11 players are expected to take the field for India today? As good a question that is, it’s also a head-scratcher. Ideally, India wouldn’t want to tamper with the XI that won them the game against Bangladesh, but at the same time, there’s always this temptation to play a left-arm seamer to get the mental edge. Arshdeep Singh in for Harshit Rana is a big possibility. As is Varun Chakaravarthy, who bamboozled England back home. Is that a risk India is willing to take, or will Rohit Sharma play it safe and give his winning combination another shot? Here’s our pick:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav

India vs Pakistan Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Where is he? The man, the myth, the legend Virat Kohli is nowhere to be seen. Yes, sure enough. There is a man who looks a lot like Kohli, but he’s far from the player who used to chase targets and score hundreds for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Anyway, sarcasm aside. The Pakistan clash is a big test for the under-fire Kohli. Back in his pomp, Kohli made it a habit to defeat Pakistan single-handedly. Who can forget his career-best 183 at the 2012 Asia Cup, or the godly MCG epic? Rest assured, Pakistan is just the kind of bowling attack and the opposition Kohli would want to face to get back among runs. How many runs do you think Virat Kohli will score today? Have your say.

India vs Pakistan Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Despite their recent success against Pakistan, India trail 57-73 in ODIs. The huge margin is solely because of Pakistan’s dominance against India in the 1980s and 1990s. Those contests in the hot and humid condition of Sharjah is where Pakistan triumphed the most against India, and their habit of winning was so intense that India emerging victorious became a rare sight. Things changed at the dawn of the new century – the 2000s when India became much more competitive, and Pakistan’s stocks began to decline slightly, with some of the bigshots going away. Still, India and Pakistan in the 2000s used to be pretty neck-and-neck.

India vs Pakistan Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Alright then! Here’s a toughie. If you ask us, we will have to say India, purely on the basis of the red-hot form this team is in at the moment. Despite Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, they appear a formidable unit, having ticked most boxes in the three ODIs against England and versus Bangladesh two days ago. But at the same time, don’t rule out a Pakistan surprise. If there’s one thing you must know about Pakistan, it’s their ability to surprise. At the 2022 T20 World Cup, they were down and out… almost, having lost to India and then Zimbabwe. From there, they reached the final. Here too, they find themselves in a similar situation. A loss here could very well end their campaign then and there. Hence, the team would do everything possible to ensure it lives up to its moniker of the defending champions. Long story short, our verdict is 80-20 in India’s favour.

India vs Pakistan Live Score, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: India’s batting against Pakistan’s bowling has been the narrative around India-Pak matches for years now, and the defending champions’ bowling contingent will need to be at its menacing best because right up top, they have a HITMAN to take care of. Rohit Sharma has an average of 51.35, strike-rate of 92.38 against Pakistan in ODIs, having scored 873 runs from 19 matches. In the 2023 World Cup, it was Rohit’s blazing innings of 86 in just 63 balls that ensured India rocketed past the 192-run target in just 30.3 overs.