Pakistan vs India is one of the most intense sporting rivalries in the world and on Sunday they face off again in the Champions Trophy in the unusual setting of Dubai.

Pakistan are staging the first Champions Trophy tournament since 2017 and their first global cricket event since co-hosting the 1996 World Cup

Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi will host matches in Pakistan but games involving India will be played at the Dubai International Stadium, with Rohit Sharma’s side the only team not to play matches in the host nation.

When is Pakistan vs India?

Pakistan vs India in the ICC Champions Trophy takes place Sunday February 23 at the Dubai International Stadium in the UAE.

The action will begin at 9am UK time (2pm Pakistan time, 2.30pm Indian time).

Why are India playing in Dubai?

Political tensions between the two nations have led to strained sporting relations and India, cricket’s richest and most powerful country, have not played a game in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) reached an agreement with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Pakistan that both nations would play all ICC events hosted in either country at neutral venues until 2027.

As a result, India will play in the first semi-final in Dubai if they qualify, with Pakistan assigned the second semi-final in Lahore if they progress.

The final, which is scheduled to take place in Lahore on March 9, will also be moved to the UAE if India qualify.

How much will this benefit India?

India have been training at the ICC Academy in Dubai and will already be used to the conditions in the Middle East, whereas Pakistan will have to travel and adjust to the pitch and weather.

If India make it to the semi-finals, it will also mean the opposing team will have to travel and make adjustments, while Sharma’s side get the benefit of familiarity.

The pitches in Dubai are known to be slower and with the ILT20 (International League T20) having just taken place, ending on February 20, the surfaces could get even slower as the tournament progresses.

Slow surfaces typically favour spinners and facilitate run scoring for batters. India’s squad includes five spinners – Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy – and even though they are missing their star player, Jasprit Bumrah, through back issues, they still have a star-studded line-up which could work heavily in their favour.

How important is this clash between India and Pakistan?

Defending champions Pakistan fell to a heavy 60-run defeat in the Champions Trophy opener against New Zealand after Tom Latham and Will Young hit centuries. Tournament favourites India, meanwhile, cruised to a six-wicket victory over a battling Bangladesh, with Shubman Gill hitting a ton.

If India beat Pakistan on Sunday, they will have all but secured their place in the semi-final, while the hosts will be knocked out of the tournament.

Due to their low net run-rate, Pakistan sit at the bottom of the Group A table, with Bangladesh in third place, India in second and New Zealand topping the table. (Correct as of February 21).

Why has it been so long since Pakistan hosted a tournament?

In 2009, gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus in Lahore and wounded six players – it was an event which resulted in the presence of international cricket in Pakistan being heavily restricted for years.

As a result of the attack, the top teams in world cricket avoided Pakistan and the Champions Trophy marks the first major global tournament to be hosted in the country in nearly three decades.

Form Guides

Pakistan’s last five ODIs: WLWLL

Pakistan’s opening Champions Trophy loss to New Zealand was their third to the same opponents within their last five, following two losses in a pre-tournament tri-series which also involved South Africa.

On their travels, Pakistan defeated world champions Australia 2-1 in November and beat South Africa 3-0 in December.

India’s last five ODIs: LWWWW

Before their opening Champions Trophy win over Bangladesh, India whitewashed England 3-0 in a confidence-boosting series, but before that surprisingly lost a three-match series to Sri Lanka 2-0 in August.

India vs Pakistan head-to-head ODI record

In 135 ODIs between the pair, Pakistan have 73 victories compared to India’s 57, along with five draws.

In the last Champions Trophy campaign in 2017, Pakistan defeated India in the final at the Oval in London on an occasion never fondly remembered.

Team News

Pakistan lost batter Fakhar Zaman to a tournament-ending chest injury in Wednesday’s defeat to New Zealand and he has been replaced in the squad by Imam-ul-Haq.

For India, the expectation is they will be unchanged from their opening victory vs Bangladesh, with all three spinners – Yadav, Jadeja and Patel – in play in Dubai.

Harshit Rana was chosen ahead of Arshdeep Singh to replace injured star bowler Jasprit Bumrah alongside Mohammed Shami for that game, and the same is expected again.

Pakistan squad: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice captain), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy.

Watch live coverage of India’s game against Pakistan at the ICC Champions Trophy, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 8.30am on Sunday (first ball, 9am). Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.

The Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol rematch will be live on Saturday February 22 on Sky Sports Box Office. Book now!