CT 2017, Final, Pakistan v India Preview: Arch rivals lock horns for ultimate glory

The mother of all battles is all set to get underway at arguably the most epic stage possible. The arch rivals India and Pakistan are set to lock horns against each other in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. The winner will take it all and have the ultimate glory to cherish. On the other hand, the loser will be left with a lot to think about. Considering the rivalry that the two teams share, expect the intensities to soar sky high in the big game.

In the lead up to the finals, the two teams have had contrasting fortunes. Team India started off on a high by registering a thumping win against the same Pakistani opposition. They were stunned by Sri Lanka in the match that followed. This was the reality check that the team needed. The Virat Kohli-led side then came out even stronger from the defeat. They beat South Africa convincingly in a must win game to reach the semis. In the semis, they brought out their A game to outclass the Bangladeshi side by 9 wickets.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s resurgence in the tournament has been commendable. They entered the contest as the number 8 ranked side. The way they were beaten by India in their first game only strengthened the claims of their poor form. However, they came back strong to upset the Proteas side and then beat Sri Lanka in a humdinger to set up semi final date with England. In the semis, they beat the tournament favorites England to march in the finals.

Toss: India won the toss and elected to bowl first

Captains speak

Virat Kohli: We will bowl first. Looks like a decent hard wicket should stay true. I think it will stay true. We are a side who like chasing. We have played some cricket here. One more effort to go. If you make the final it means you have played some great cricket to come here. No matter what the opposition brings, we believe in our abilities, we have an unchanged team

Sarfraz Ahmed: I think we would have wanted to bowl but the toss is not in our hands. Looks like a good batting pitch. I am very proud of my boys. When we arrived here we were number eight. We had nothing to lose. Today as well we have nothing to lose. Mohammad Amir is back and is now playing today.

Playing XI:

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah

Pakistan: Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan

Focus will be on

Virat Kohli

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been in the prime form in the tournament. He averages 253 in the tournament owing to his three unbeaten scores out of the four occasions where he has batted thus far. Kohli has been magnificent in the two run chases in the last two games. He has also been very impactful while batting first. In the first game against Pakistan, he had smashed a fifty to announce himself in the competition. With his captaincy, he has been spot on as well.

Hasan Ali

Hasan Ali has been the new found bowling sensation for Pakistan in the recent times. He is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament thus far. With two three wicket hauls to his name in the tournament, Hasan Ali would want to make an improvement and bag a five-for in the finals. He has already expressed his desire to excel in the finals against India. Hasan was the Player of the Match in the first semi-final of the tournament.

Shikhar Dhawan

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan seems to have a love affair with the ICC tournaments. The Indian opener won the golden bat in the previous edition of the tournament. This year, he looks set to bag it one more time. Dhawan is the leading run getter of the tournament this year as well with 317 runs to his name in 4 matches. He will look to dominate the opposition in the powerplay overs.

Team Combinations

Pakistan

Team Pakistan will try not to tinker with their winning combinations. The only change that they might bring in their lineup will be bringing back their premier pacer Mohammad Amir. Amir had to miss out the semi-final game against England due to back spasms. Rumman Raees will have to make way for Amir. In the batting, Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman look like a very settled opening pair.

Babar Azam and Mohammad Amir got amongst the runs in the previous game as well. Shoaib Malik has shown brief spells of excellence. Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed was the key batsman in the run chase against Sri Lanka. Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim will be the two spinners along with the services of Mohammad Hafeez. Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, and Amir will make up the pace department.

India

The Indian team will have a big selection conundrum to worry about. They will definitely be tempted to swap in Umesh Yadav for Ravichandran Ashwin. Having said that, the words of skipper Virat Kohli hinted that the team is likely to retain the same winning combination. The batting order looks in supreme touch with Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and Kohli being among the top run getters of the tournament.

In the middle order, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, and Kedar Jadhav have had their share of go in the middle as well, albeit not as much as the top three. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will settle in the role of the all-rounders. Ravichandran Ashwin will have the support of Jadeja in the spin department. The two pacers in the lineup will be Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Stat Attack:

13-16 – India-Pakistan’s head to head record on Sundays in ODIs. Team India won 13 ODIs while Pakistan have won 16 out of the 30 meetings on Sunday with the other ODI ending in a washout.

13 – Number of fifty-plus scores for Yuvraj Singh in ODIs against Pakistan; the most fifty-plus scores for him against an opposition in ODIs. He has scored 11 fifty-plus vs England and 10 vs Sri Lanka.

15 – Number of times India and Pakistan have met each other in ICC events; India won 13 games (including a Super Over win) while Pakistan won two.