India's top 3 bowling performances against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy ft. Ashish Nehra

Team India are all set to clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy on Sunday (February 23) in Dubai. India are coming into this game on the back of a six-wicket win over Bangladesh, while Pakistan were handed a 60-run loss by New Zealand.

Historically, India and Pakistan have met five times in the Champions Trophy, with the Men in Green holding an advantage with a 3-2 win record. The recent game between the two sides saw Pakistan win by 180 runs against India to lift the 2017 Champions Trophy title.

On that note, let's take a look at the three finest performances by Indian bowlers throughout these five games in the Champions Trophy.

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#3 Irfan Pathan - 3/34, 2004

India and Pakistan were involved in a closely contested game in the 2004 edition in Birmingham. Incidentally, it was also their first meeting in the tournament, which started in 1998.

Inzamam-ul-Haq won the toss and invited India to bat first, a decision which went in their favor. In only the first over, Mohammad Sami trapped Indian captain Sourav Ganguly (0), while Naved-ul-Hasan dismissed Virender Sehwag (10) and VVS Laxman (3) soon. These wickets left India reeling at 28/3.

Rahul Dravid (67) and Ajit Agarkar (47) played a key role in helping the Men in Blue post a respectable total of 200 on the board. Naved-ul-Hasan was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan with four wickets.

Thereafter, Indian pacer Irfan Pathan dismissed Imran Farhat (0) in the first over and followed it up with another breakthrough of Shoaib Malik (5) in his next over. Pathan continued to keep the Men in Green under pressure with his tight line and lengths and went on to dismiss Yasir Hameed (15) as well.

However, the contributions of Mohammad Yousuf (81*) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (41) sealed the chase for Pakistan. Pathan finished with figures of 3/34 off 10 overs.

The victory helped Pakistan to enter the top four, where they were handed a seven-wicket loss against the West Indies. Meanwhile, India failed to reach the semifinals.

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#2 Umesh Yadav - 3/30, 2017

In Match 4 of the 2017 Champions Trophy, India were pitted against Pakistan in Birmingham. Sarfaraz Ahmed's decision to field first, couldn't bear fruit for Pakistan, as the Indian openers were flawless with their striking.

Rohit Sharma (91) and Shikhar Dhawan (69) laid a strong foundation for the Indian side with a 136-run opening stand. Thereafter, Virat Kohli (81*) and Yuvraj Singh (53) lifted the team's score to 319 in 48 overs (due to rain).

In response, Pakistan started well but lost Ahmed Shahzad (12) to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the ninth over. Four overs later, Umesh Yadav dismissed Babar Azam (8) to put India in the driver's seat.

Although Azhar Ali (50) tried well, the experienced pair of Mohammad Hafeez (33) and Shoaib Malik (15) failed to continue the team's momentum for a longer duration.

In the end, Yadav dismissed Mohammad Amir (9) and Hasan Ali (0) to wrap up Pakistan's innings for 164 and finish with figures of 3/30.

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#1 Ashish Nehra - 4/55, 2009

Ashish Nehra delivered the finest performance by an Indian bowler against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy history. He achieved the feat in Match 6 of the 2009 edition in Centurion.

Opening the bowling attack, Nehra got rid of Imran Nazir (20) and Kamran Akmal (19) in the fifth and ninth over, respectively. Shoaib Malik (128) played a terrific knock to put Pakistan on the front foot. He was well supported by Mohammad Yousuf (87), who was dismissed by Nehra in the 46th over.

Ashish Nehra also dismissed Umar Akmal (0), with Pakistan eventually ending their innings on 302/8. Nehra finished with figures of 4/55 off 10 overs.

In response, Rahul Dravid (76) and Gautam Gambhir (57) played well, but other batters couldn't contribute enough, as the Men in Blue were bundled out for 248. Pakistan qualified for the semifinal, where they lost to New Zealand by five wickets.