Pakistan’s Pacer Downplays Pressure Before Champions Trophy 2025 Encounter vs India

Even with just three games in the ninth edition of the Champions Trophy 2025, the suffocated event has put Pakistan, the hosts, at risk of facing early elimination from the competition after their 60-run defeat in the opening clash of the eight-team tournament against New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi.

The Mohammad Rizwan-led has found their back to the wall as they try hard to answer a few questions. One of the biggest issues for the Green Brigade will be their bowling performance in the death overs, which has struggled badly from the recent tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa.

Haris Rauf leaks Pakistan’s environment before mouth-watering clash vs India

The Rizwan-led side’s opening defeat against the Kiwis in Karachi made the Indian encounter a must-win if they want to remain in contention for the semifinal berth in the eight-team tournament.

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Rohit Sharma’s army has already practiced multiple times at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and earned confidence by winning their previous game against Bangladesh by six wickets with 21 balls to spare. Shubman Gill celebrated an unbeaten century to master the chase with full momentum.

Harif Rauf, the fast bowler of the green brigade, has openly accepted that they won’t be under any pressure in the clash against India, and all the Pakistan players are in a relaxed mood despite the opening defeat.

“There is no pressure in the match against India. We will take it just like any other match.” The Rawalpindi-born expressed during their training session in Dubai.

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Rauf stressed the team’s intention to get better in all three departments against India after the humiliating defeat against the Kiwis. But he is confident, thanks to their record against the blue brigade at this ground.

During the 2021 T20 World Cup, under Babar Azam’s captaincy, Pakistan earned a 10-wicket victory over the Virat Kohli-led Indian side for the first time in an ICC T20 event. Rauf revealed their eagerness to do well in an ICC event at home after 29 years.

“That match (New Zealand) is gone. We are focused on the India game. We want to make sure that we don't repeat the mistakes from that match here. This is a very important match for us. We want to win it to make sure we qualify for the semi-final.” Harif Rauf added.

Afridi gave away 68 runs without any prize in the first 10 overs, while Rauf was smashed for 83 runs in 10 overs against New Zealand. Naseem Shah finished with 2/63 in 10 overs.

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“No doubt, it will (boost our confidence). We have beaten India here in back-to-back years. We will try, and repeat the good things from those games and try and beat India. I hope it's a good match. No doubt, the record is good. But it depends on the pitches. It might be a spin track. We will look at the conditions and try and use them well.” He concluded.

Pakistan believes in Babar Azam to bail them out of trouble

Pakistan hopes for a better result from Babar Azam, who lacked aggression against the Blackcaps in the huge run chase. They will miss their fierce opening batter, Fakhar Zaman, for the next encounter against India, as Imam Ul Haq will replace the southpaw.

Imam’s record in ODIs at the Dubai International Stadium isn’t good, with just 62 runs in three innings at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 64.58. He has cracked just 64 ODI runs in five innings at an average of below 13.