After the culmination of the VIVO IPL 2017, all eyes are now set towards the Champions Trophy 2017 as the defending champions India will lock horns against its sworn enemy Pakistan in an intense clash in Birmingham on June 4 this Sunday.
Champions Trophy 2017: India vs Pakistan – Live Cricket Score #CT17
Interestingly, both neighbors will play their first game against each other. It will be a litmus test for both Virat Kohli and Sarfraz Ahmed as the two skippers will lead India and Pakistan in this high voltage drama.
Also Read: ICC Champions Trophy 2017: SWOT Analysis of the Indian team
On paper, India look pretty stronger than Pakistan courtesy India’s fine all-round performance in the last few years. Unlike India’s star-studded squad comprising the likes of the big stalwarts of the game like Dhoni, Yuvraj, Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Pakistan have now turned into a bunch of new comers barring Shoaib Mallik who have a vast experience in the international cricket.
Team News for Pakistan
Young Sarfraz Khan will have a big responsibility to ensure that the team performs to its full potential on Sunday. Ahead of the big clash against the defending champions India, men-in-green need to strategize their game plan in a tacit manner. With no Younis Khan and Misbah-Ul-Haq in the squad, there are some added responsibilities on Shoaib Malik’s shoulder to play well against India.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez are also in good form scoring 436 and 324 runs from 8 matches at an average of 62 and 41 respectively. Their opening stand will be crucial to the team. Then the likes of Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik will follow in the middle order.
Pakistan will rely on its experienced duo of left-arm-fast Wahab Riaz and right-arm-fast Mohammad Amir for initial breakthroughs. Junaid Khan is also likely to be introduced in the middle overs. Shadab khan and Shoaib Malik will be viable leg-spin and off-spin options for the Men-in-green Jerseys.
Team News for India
India have performed well at the Champions Trophy’s warm up matches beating both New Zealand and Bangladesh in a convincing manner. Definitely, men-in-blue would like to start their Champions Trophy campaign on a winning note with a thumping win over Pakistan.
IPL 10 has opened up a lot of things for team India including Captain Kohli’s own average form scoring just 308 runs from 10 matches. Similarly, Rohit Sharma’s performance has been also a lack luster one scoring just a meager 333 runs from 17 matches. However, the format is different this time and Indian team knows how to play well at crunchy matches.
India is equally happy about the performance of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, chipping in 26 wickets, and Shikhar Dhawan smashing 479 runs in 14 matches at the IPL. They are in fantastic form and likely to perform well against Pakistan too at 50-over format. Then R Ashwin is also making his comeback in cricket after a long hiatus, he is sure to live up to the expectations of the crowd at this gala match.
Predicted Playing XI (Both Teams)
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (Captain), Dinesh Kartik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Azhar Ali Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed (Captain), Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz.
Latest ICC ODI Ranking: India (3rd) & Pakistan (8th).
Head to Head in Champions Trophy: Pakistan are 2-1 ahead than India.
Match Result Prediction: India will win the match.
Venue: Edgbaston, Birmingham. The Match will telecast live on Star Sports.
Tags: #CT17, Birmingham, Edgbaston, Hotstar, ICC Champions Trophy, ICC Champions Trophy 2017, India, Live Cricket Score, Live Streaming, Pakistan, Star Sports, TV Channels
