Rohit Sharma led Indian cricket team is all set to take on Mohammed Rizwan’s Pakistan side in match 5 of the ongoing edition of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 which will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, on February 23 (Sunday). Ahead of the high-octane clash between arch-rivals, vice captain Shubman Gill talked about the Men in Blue’s approach. He also revealed how India will walk into the match with an advantage.
The IND vs PAK clash!
Gill, who won Player of the Match in India’s last match after scoring a century said their approach is simple which is to play according to the situation. However, as India has already played a match there and has been practising in those conditions it could come in handy for them in that clash.
“The ideal approach is to assess the conditions and see how it’s playing. We were lucky we got to field first and saw how the wicket was playing. As a batter, you need to assess the conditions. Definitely, we need to play aggressive and positive cricket, but that depends on how the wicket plays. On these wickets, 260-280 is a good total. On another wicket, we might look to get 320, 350-plus. We don’t have any particular target. But, we try and get 15–30 runs more than par total on any pitch,” said Gill in the pre-match press conference.
Vice Captain Shubhman Gill On India vs Pakistan Match. pic.twitter.com/k934V8cPpF
— Md Nagori (@Sulemannagori23) February 22, 2025
It is a must-win game for Pakistan, and the Indian side will also treat it as such, as it could ensure their spot in the semi-final of this marquee event. Both teams will be eyeing a crucial victory here. As for the Men in Blue, they need to work on taking wickets in the middle overs and hope Virat Kohli returns to scoring ways. Pakistan is dealing with the loss of their in-form batter, Fakhar Zaman.
PCB has announced Imam-ul-Haq as his replacement, but the team’s batting performance has not been consistent. On the other hand, Shubaman Gill has smashed back-to-back ODI tons and will be looking to continue that form in the high-octane clash against their archrivals.
Also Read: Ex-India Pacer Shocks Fans: ‘I Want Pakistan to Win CT IND vs PAK Clash!’
