Champions Trophy India v Pakistan: Expert Predictions & Analysis
India v Pakistan predictions:
- Mohammad Rizwan over 25.5 runs - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports
- Rohit Sharma over 33.5 runs - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports
- Mohammed Shami 2+ wickets - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports
When: Sunday 23 February, 2:30 pm ISTChampions Trophy India v Pakistan: Expert Predictions & Analysis
Where: Dubai International Cricket StadiumChampions Trophy India v Pakistan: Expert Predictions & Analysis
Watch: Star Sports, Sports18Champions Trophy India v Pakistan: Expert Predictions & Analysis
Best Odds: India 1.40, Pakistan 3.00
It’s without a doubt always the most anticipated fixture of any ICC tournament and this Champions Trophy clash takes on a particularly interesting flavour with India effectively wrestling hosting rights off Pakistan.
The game will be staged in Dubai, where India have based themselves for the tournament and therefore have a greater recent familiarity with conditions, most recently defeating Bangladesh just a few days ago, though Pakistan’s more experienced players will remember Dubai as one of their permanent ‘home’ cities prior to 2019.
Pakistan’s bowlers managed just five wickets in a 60-run loss to New Zealand to put their semi-finals chances in grave jeopardy, whilst their campaign suffered another blow with Fakhar Zaman ruled out through injury.
It’s a matchup that India typically dominates across both white-ball formats, and with ten points separating the teams on the 2023 World Cup standings, there’s little wonder that the best cricket betting sites have graded India as very strong favourites.
The Numbers That Matter
- Pakistan lost seven of the eight completed H2H ODIs since 2015
- India have never been beaten in a Dubai ODI (W6 T1)
- Seven of the last nine ODIs at this venue were won chasing
- Babar Azam scored 50+ in three of six ODIs in Dubai
Don’t worry about Rizwan’s last knock
We’re focusing our first two player selections on two men who have been able to withstand the pressure of the India-Pakistan rivalry, and one of them is Pakistan wicketkeeper-captain Mohammad Rizwan.
Rizwan sparkled with 122* and 46 in his last two tri-nations ODIs prior to this tournament and his Champions Trophy innings against New Zealand was a complete ‘forgive and forget’ considering his uppercut that was caught by the freakish Glenn Phillips would have beaten 98% of other fielders in the world.
He withstood the heat to record 49 against India in Ahmedabad at the 2023 World Cup, and more recently registered a score of 31 on a very difficult New York pitch at last year’s T20 World Cup.
The Dubai surface produced for this fixture shouldn’t be any more difficult than those two were.
In part due to those two knocks, Rizwan comes into this game averaging a hefty 64 across both ODIs and T20Is against the four bowlers from India’s last game that he has faced - Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Axar Patel.
We’re therefore confident he can go past the 25.5 run mark set by most cricket betting apps.
Prediction: Mohammad Rizwan over 25.5 runs - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports
Rohit the reigning champion of the rivalry
Rohit Sharma didn’t have a say in that T20 World Cup game in the USA, but in this format he is supreme against Pakistan.
His 86 in the 2023 win in Ahmedabad took his ODI average against Pakistan to a whopping 51.35, which includes ten scores of 50+ from his 19 innings since 2007 - that’s more than 50% of innings in which he goes past the 33.5 run threshold set by Indian cricket bookmakers for this one.
Assisted by the task of a modest run chase ahead of him, he looked completely at ease in Dubai as he set up their success with seven powerplay boundaries.
Amazingly, that 41 against Bangladesh was his second-worst score from six ODI innings in Dubai - he’s back to the vintage Rohit that was the second-leading run scorer of the 2018 Asia Cup that took place in the UAE.
Rohit’s ODI average of 47.50 against Shaheen, Naseem and Haris Rauf also holds him in good stead in addition to his innings against Bangladesh.
Prediction: Rohit Sharma over 33.5 runs - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports
Another Indian who is back with a vengeance
Oh, how we’ve all missed peak Mohammed Shami!
It took the 34-year-old a few games to get into the swing of things against England earlier this month but the Dubai game against Bangladesh was right in his wheelhouse.
Shami is a consistent big tournament performer, with his five-wicket haul against Bangladesh taking his total in major ODI events (World/Asia Cup and Champions Trophy) to a stunning 72 from just 25 matches - an average of nearly three per game!
His 72 wickets in those big events comes at a strike rate of just 17 balls per wicket and, whilst he hasn’t faced Pakistan in this format since the 2015 World Cup (4-35 from nine overs), he now has taken 2+ wickets in eight of his last 13 ODIs, all of which were in Asia.
Prediction: Mohammed Shami 2+ wickets - 1.83 @ 22Bet Sports
Champions Trophy India v Pakistan: Expert Predictions & Analysis
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