NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan are set to clash in the Champions Trophy in Dubai on February 23 and like always it is the most anticipated and eagerly awaited encounter in cricket.
The last time India and Pakistan had clashed in the Champions Trophy it was in the final of the last edition in June 2017.
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With Sarfaraz Ahmed as captain, Pakistan had defeated India comprehensively by 180 runs at The Oval in the final after registering 338 runs on the board and bundling out India for just 158 runs.
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Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali, talking on his YouTube channel called on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to appoint Sarfaraz Ahmed as the mentor for the tournament, especially for the match against India.
Basit Ali says in the video, “Against India, Pakistan should make their mentor that person who had won the Champions Trophy last time for the country, that is Sarfaraz Ahmed. Why? Sarfaraz’s suggestions and experience of winning the trophy will be very useful. I will not take anybody else’s name. A captain is a captain, the way he made the fight in that match.”
Apart from India and Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand are also in the same group. India play their first match of the tournament against Bangladesh on February 20, before the clash against Pakistan, followed by the match against New Zealand on March 2.
India are set to play all their matches in the UAE as they had refused to travel to Pakistan.
So far in ODI cricket, India and Pakistan have clashed 135 times, with India winning 57 matches and losing 73 games. 5 matches yielded no result.
In the Champions Trophy, India have played 5 matches against Pakistan, winning 2 and losing 3 games.