Title-holders India face arch-rivals Pakistan in their ICC Champions Trophy 2017 opener at Edgbaston on Sunday. India captain Virat Kohli leads a powerful batting line-up while Pakistan have fearsome pacers. Get live cricket score and live cricket updates of India vs Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy 2017 match here. (LIVE SCORECARD | LIVE STREAMING)
11:30 AM IST:
Stop it @imVkohli! ??? pic.twitter.com/0z1p7rGitq
— ICC (@ICC) June 4, 2017
11:14 AM IST: Reports coming up that Indian and Pakistan teams’ hotels have been locked down for a while after the terror attacks in London. There is not threat to the math though.
10:46 AM IST: Welcome to the live coverage of India vs Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy 2017 clash here.
The build-up to what is arguably cricket’s most anticipated fixture has been dominated by reports of a falling out between India captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble.
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But Kohli, one of the most driven players now in world cricket, said as his squad left for England: “The hunger to win and ruthlessness is what we speak about all the time.”
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Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi, in a column for www.icc-cricket.com, wrote: “While Kohli is the backbone, India possesses considerable firepower around him. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni are all match-winners.”
Afridi also noted the “balance” in a bowling attack which is set to include seamers by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami as well as the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Read | India vs Pakistan – Advantage IND but handling pressure will be key: Harbhajan
But Pakistan are not without hope and boast proven performers in the likes of skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, an excellent wicket-keeper/batsman, was well as a big-hitting rookie in Faheem Ashraf.
Yet for all that players on both sides have tried to label Sunday’s clash as “just another game”, the fact is someone always has something to lose in an India-Pakistan match, a fixture that commands the attention of billions round the world let alone in the two cricket crazy sub-continent.
Read | India vs Pakistan – ICC Champions Trophy: Going down the memory lane
Political rivalry means the two sides have not played a bilateral series since 2012-2013, and India have refused to consider the idea without an end to “cross border terrorism” — code for militant incursions along the disputed Kashmir border.
India have never lost a 50-over World Cup or Twenty20 showdown against Pakistan, and a win on Sunday would put them in good stead in a tough group also including Sri Lanka and South Africa.
But Pakistan have won two of their three Champions Trophy showdowns against India.
Source: HindustanTimes