'Pakistan's victory over India in CT25 would be an upset'

Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali mentioned concerns about Pakistan’s victory over India in CT25 in their upcoming Champions Trophy match.

In a recent interview on ARY News programme “Har Lamha Purjosh”, Basit Ali said that keeping Pakistan’s victory over India in CT25 in current form would be considered a major upset.

“The way Pakistan is playing cricket, India has an 85 percent chance of winning, while Pakistan’s chances are only 15%,” he said and “If Pakistan wins, it will be a big upset.”

Former wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal resonated with Basit Ali’s opinions, saying that an upset is possible and India holds a ‘clear advantage’.

“We can call it an upset because the Indian team is complete,” Kamran Akmal said. “The only chance for Pakistan’s victory over India in CT25 is to take early wickets with the new ball,” he added

Kamran Akmal also highlighted Pakistan’s struggles in the middle overs and ‘poor’ bowling. He said, “We only have one spinner in the middle overs, we are not taking wickets with the new ball, and we are conceding too many runs in the death overs.”

Kamran Akmal predicted that India has a 90 percent chances of winning, while Pakistan’s chances are only 10 percent.

The two teams are set to face each other on Sunday, February 23, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan suffered a defeat in their first match against New Zealand, while India started their campaign with a convincing 6-wicket victory over Bangladesh.

Previously, India has dominated the head-to-head record against Pakistan in recent years, winning all of their last five encounters.

As the nation is waiting for the big match between the rival teams, Pakistan’s pace bowler Haris Rauf is hopeful to perform against India to help Pakistan win.

Haris Rauf spoke to the media after arriving in Dubai and stated that all of Pakistan’s upcoming games are now in a ‘do-or-die’ situation. He recalled past successes against India in Dubai and highlighted that the team aims to replicate those victories in their match against their opponents. Rauf also expressed his commitment to giving his best to match his previous performances.

Additionally, the Pakistan pacer addressed the absence of opening batters Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub from the national squad.