3 things to look forward to in the India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy 2025 clash ft. Virat Kohli

India are all set to lock horns with Pakistan in Match 5 of the 2025 Champions Trophy. The encounter will hit screens from the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, February 23.

While India are in pole position to qualify from their group following a six-wicket win over Bangladesh, Pakistan already have one foot out of the door. The Men in Green went down to New Zealand in their opening encounter of the tournament, and a loss to their arch-rivals could spell doom for them.

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 to look forward to in the India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy clash.

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#3 It's the much-awaited India vs Pakistan clash!

Net Sessions - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

This might seem like an obvious thing to say, but an India vs Pakistan clash brings so much with it that cannot be easily understood or followed. In-game head-to-head matchups, expert opinions, moments that become etched in history in a matter of minutes, countless individual storylines - the rivalry almost always delivers.

So much so that the decision-makers make it a point to put India and Pakistan in the same group in every ICC event. The rivalry has been one-sided in favor of the former in recent times, but Pakistan have a 3-2 advantage in Champions Trophy encounters.

As a result, we could see another classic India vs Pakistan clash, especially with the latter having their backs against the wall.

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#2 Babar Azam will be in the spotlight in Dubai

Net Sessions - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

Pakistan's former skipper hasn't been in the best of nick in recent times and desperately needs a turnaround. Babar Azam will hope that playing against India brings the best out of him, with his team's tournament hopes hanging in the balance.

There are serious questions over Babar's strike rate, which was questionable against Bangladesh and has generally been a problem across both white-ball tournaments in the last few years. We might see him adopt a more positive approach, and whether he finds success doing that is certainly something to look forward to.

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#1 Can Virat Kohli use the Pakistan pace attack to find his rhythm?

India Portraits - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

Virat Kohli has had tons of troubles against spin in recent times, and Pakistan have a mysterious bowler in Abrar Ahmed. However, the superstar batter generally enjoys playing against Pakistan and can be backed to get back among the runs in the Champions Trophy.

Can Kohli get used to the sticky nature of the Dubai wicket and play a classic Kohli innings? Or will his struggles continue and put him under more pressure? The 36-year-old had an extended net session on the eve of the match, and it remains to be seen if that is the catalyst behind his potential success.