3 things India need to do right to beat Pakistan in Match 5 of the 2025 Champions Trophy ft. Rohit Sharma's bowler usage

India will look to continue their winning momentum in the 2025 Champions Trophy when they face off against Pakistan. The arch-rivals will battle it out at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, February 23.

The Men in Blue are in an excellent vein of form in the ODI format. To kick off the ICC event, they beat Bangladesh by a convincing six-wicket margin. From a tactical perspective, India have done most things right.

Pakistan will bring with them their own set of challenges, although it's clear that they are the underdogs for this game. India need to be wary of the threat posed by the unpredictable defending champions.

India's squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.

On that note, here are three things India need to do right in Match 5 of the 2025 Champions Trophy.

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#3 Rohit Sharma needs to bowl more pace in the middle overs

India Portraits - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

India's team composition means that they are primed to use Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav through the middle overs. All three spinners are more than capable of being effective despite the batter-friendly field restrictions in the ODI format in the 11-40 over phase.

However, against Pakistan, Rohit Sharma needs to rely on his pacers more. Hardik Pandya and Harshit Rana can be useful with their cutters and hard lengths, with Pakistan's middle-order batters being susceptible to that style of bowling. The in-form batter, Salman Agha, is clearly more adept against spin.

There are virtually no solid players of fast bowling in the opposition middle order, and India need to exploit that.

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#2 Axar Patel should continue to be used at No. 5

Bangladesh v India - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

Meanwhile, on the other side, Pakistan have a three-pronged spin attack featuring Abrar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah and Salman Agha. With their pacers being suited to bowling in the powerplay, there's no doubt that the hosts will use their slower bowlers through the middle.

In that event, India must use Axar Patel as a floater at No. 5 once again. He can counter Abrar and Khushdil, who bowled the majority of the fourth and fifth bowlers' quotas in the previous game, and will also be useful against Agha. With the likes of Virat Kohli struggling against spin, the southpaw's style and ability to take them on will be useful.

This will also allow KL Rahul a slightly freer role through the latter half of the innings, enabling Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to take on the Pakistan pacers at the death.

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#1 Putting pressure on Shaheen Afridi has worked well for India in the past

Bangladesh v India - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

There was a time when Shaheen Afridi ripped apart India's batting lineup, but those days are gone now. The Pakistan fast bowler has been a shadow of his former self since suffering a serious knee injury, with both his pace and swing taking a hit in recent times.

Over the last two ICC tournaments, India's openers, especially Rohit Sharma, have targeted Shaheen. The left-armer has lost his radar when targeted, and the Men in Blue need to go down the same route once again. If they can hit Shaheen out of the attack early, Pakistan's entire bowling plans could be disrupted. Moreover, he went wicketless in the previous game and clearly isn't anywhere close to his confident best.