India target semifinal spot, Pakistan fight for survival in marquee clash

Hyped as a marquee showdown but mostly lopsided on the field India and Pakistan lock horns in the ICC Champions Trophy here on Sunday with Rohit Sharmas men aiming to seal a semifinal spot and Mohammad Rizwans team desperate to avoid early elimination from the tournamentWhile India are on a high after claiming a measured sixwicket win over a sprightly Bangladesh Pakistan are evidently tense after the 60run loss in the tournamentopener against New ZealandThe subcontinental rivals last Champion Trophy clash was the 2017 final in which Pakistan walked away with the win and the trophy Rizwan and Co would look to draw inspiration from that triumph in London but would also need to scale up their performance in every departmentThough the buzz surrounding the match is nowhere close to being what it used to be at the peak of diplomatic tensions between the two countries there is an air of quiet anticipation for the Group A clash at the Dubai International Cricket StadiumIndia will have a distinct advantage in every aspect The side has settled in nicely while Pakistan have flown in a couple of days ago after the drubbing handed by the Black Caps in KarachiMore often than not an IndiaPakistan clash is as much a battle of nerves as cricketing abilities and India would be in a much better space on both counts come Sunday afternoonFor starters skipper Rohit whose form was a major concern in the runup to the tournament seems to be getting back to his best if the lucid strokemaking against Bangladesh was anything to go byHis 41run cameo was a crucial contribution in the tricky chase of 229 which was masterfully anchored by Shubman Gill with his eighth ODI hundredIn contrast Pakistan would be fretting over the form and approach of their biggest star Babar Azam The 90ball 64 against New Zealand in a chase of 320 has been roundly criticised for being too slowAzams inability to accelerate even when the asking rate kept climbing has come under scrutiny and he would be under tremendous pressure against IndiaAdding to their woes is the injuryforced ouster of gamechanging opener Fakhar Zaman from the squad Imam ul Haq has replaced him in the side and has joined the squad hereHowever middleorder batter Khushdil Shahs counterattacking 69 in the tournamentopener is a positive Shah has amusingly stated that he has no idea how he made the squad given his lean run in the recent past but Pakistan would be happy that the punt has paid offPakistan would also be hoping to prove a point by getting the better of India who refused to travel across the border for the tournament which is otherwise wholly scheduled in Karachi Lahore and RawalpindiThe man who is feeling the heat in the Indian team right now is Virat Kohli after yet again failing to convert a fairly decent start His focus hasnt looked the same for a while but Kohli does have the knack of coming up with special efforts against PakistanHowever in the larger scheme of things it could well boil down to key defining moments from the bowlers and here too Pakistan have lots to ponder after the hammering that the Shaheen Afridiled attack took from the KiwisOn the other hand India have a fitagain and inform Mohammed Shami who is being brilliantly backed up by Harshit Rana Shamis fifer against Bangladesh ensured that India did not miss injured talisman Jasprit Bumrah just yetAllrounder Hardik Pandya has always turned up with his best against Pakistan in major ICC tournaments He will be hoping to make up for the 2017 Champions Trophy final disappointment where he fought as a lone warrior for India but failed to take his team over the lineIndia are likely to continue with their winning combination and remain unchangedThe spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel will be included once again on the tweakerfriendly surface to exploit the conditionsSquads India Rohit Sharma captain Shubman Gill vice captain Virat Kohli Shreyas Iyer KL Rahul wicketkeeper Hardik Pandya Axar Patel Washington Sundar Kuldeep Yadav Jasprit Bumrah Mohammed Shami Arshdeep Singh Harshit Rana Rishabh Pant wicketkeeper Ravindra Jadeja Varun ChakravarthyPakistan Mohammad Rizwan captain Salman Ali Agha vice captain Babar Azam Fakhar Zaman Kamran Ghulam Saud Shakeel Tayyab Tahir Faheem Ashraf Khushdil Shah Usman Khan Abrar Ahmed Haris Rauf Mohammad Hasnain Naseem Shah Shaheen Shah AfridiMatch starts at 230pm IST PTI SR PM PM PMThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever