Dubai: There is no greater rivalry in the world of cricket more fierce than an India vs Pakistan clash. The matches between the two arch-rivals and neighbours are a rare commodity these days and ones which everyone wants to cash in on. The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is no different and India.com is at the ground in Dubai to take you up close and give exclusive coverage of all the news – both on and off the field as all roads are leading up to the Dubai International Stadium (DIS) this Sunday with India taking on hosts Pakistan in a virtual knockout game.
There was unusually massive rush at the Dubai International Airport on Thursday night, even as Rohit Sharma’s side were opening their campaign in the Champions Trophy with a win over Bangladesh some 30 minutes away at the Dubai International Stadium. The airport gives no hint of the craze or build-up to the ICC event and one has to get to the Dubai Sports City to get an idea that the Champions Trophy is actually in town.
Indian cricket team are no strangers to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) having played lot of enthralling cricket in in 1980s and 1990s at the iconic Sharjah stadium. The drive towards Dubai Sports City might have been a smooth one around midnight when this correspondent landed in the city but one witnessed at least a 10km long jam in road heading towards Sharjah.
An immediate prayer of thanks went up that Team India are playing all of their games in the Champions Trophy in Dubai and not in Sharjah – Sachin Tendulkar’s ‘Desert Storm’ and Javed Miandad’s iconic six aside!
The weather in Dubai has been ideal for playing cricket – not too hot, not cold but with slight drizzle around town. The little bit of rain thankfully came only after India completed a six-wicket win over Bangladesh in their opening Group A match thanks to Shubman Gill’s century and Mohammed Shami’s five-wicket haul.
Fellow passengers on the AI 995 flight to Dubai bemoaned that they missed the clash due to their time in the air but most of them were hooked on to the cricket at the Indira Gandhi International airport in the little time that they had got.
Coming back to the cricket, India may have got off to a winning start on Thursday but they can’t afford to Pakistan lightly. Mohammad Rizwan’s side have their backs against the wall heading into Sunday’s match after their 60-run loss in the opening match of the tournament and India’s win over Bangladesh.
A win for India will not only book their berth in the Champions Trophy semifinal but a loss for Pakistan will definitely be curtains for them. Pakistan are the hosts of Champions Trophy 2025 but the ICC event is being held in a ‘hybrid’ model with all of India’s matches, one semifinal and possibly a final (if India qualify) taking place in Dubai.
Pakistan might be the hosts but Team India have a distinct advantage since they are the only side in the tournament who don’t have to travel even for a single match throughout the event. All their matches are in Dubai and they can prepare accordingly.
The first match in Dubai gave a hint that Team India’s gamble of picking five spinners for this venue may actually pay off even though Mohammed Shami was the one who picked up a five-wicket haul. Left-arm Axar Patel just missed claiming an ODI hat-trick by a whisker and along with Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav got enough purchase from the Dubai pitch to keep them interested.
We will continue our build-up to the India vs Pakistan game and keep you up-to-date with all the news around this massive clash. Stay tuned for more updates!
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