The encounter between India and Pakistan is considered to be one of the most anticipated games in the world of cricket. The two teams have not played a bilateral series for more than 10 years and the only time they face each other are at international competitions. While there is a lot of rivalry between the teams as well as their fans, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam shared a heartwarming moment during the Champions Trophy 2025 encounter in Dubai on Sunday. As Pakistan came out to bat, Virat and Babar had a small chat with the star India batter patting the back of Babar before the game started.
Picture of Day
Babar Azam and Virat Kohli. #PAKvIND #ChampionsTrophy #INDvsPAK#ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/N6XPNFicD3
— Subash (@SubbuSubash_17) February 23, 2025
Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and elected to bat in a blockbuster Champions Trophy clash against India on Sunday as his side looks to stay alive in the tournament.
Virat Kohli with Babar Azam after match start at Dubai..!!!!
– A beautiful picture pic.twitter.com/myDRW6pFQX
— ANSH • (@Anshy9451) February 23, 2025
A full house was expected for the eagerly awaited Group A match at the 25,000-capacity Dubai International Stadium, India’s home for the 50-over tournament after they refused to tour Pakistan due to political tensions.
Virat Kohli and Babar Azam on the field together before the start of the match!#ViratKohli #BabarAzam #INDvPAK #PAKvIND #ChampionsTrophy pic.twitter.com/TXxPGnwiI8
— Saabir Zafar (@Saabir_Saabu01) February 23, 2025
Defending champions Pakistan lost the tournament opener to New Zealand and another defeat will virtually end their chances of making the semi-finals.
Imam-ul-Haq comes into the Pakistan side for Fakhar Zaman, who was injured in the opening match and is out of the tournament.
India had a hard-fought win in their first match against Bangladesh and come into the key clash unchanged.
India captain Rohit Sharma said it “doesn’t really matter, they (Pakistan) won the toss, so we’ll bowl first”.
The top two teams from the two groups will make the semi-finals.
Teams
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
(With AFP inputs)
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