The mother of all cricket battles – India vs Pakistan clash – is set to be held on February 23. India and co-hosts Pakistan will square off in match number 5 of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday. 

Pakistan lost their Champions Trophy opener versus New Zealand by 60 runs in Karachi. On the other hand, Team India thrashed Bangladesh by six wickets a day later in Dubai. Placed in Group A, a defeat for Pakistan will see them get knocked out of the tournament virtually. Pakistan will need to beat Bangladesh and hope the Tigers and India overcome New Zealand by big margins. The writing is on the wall for the Men in Green. On the other hand, a win for India will help them qualify for the semis. 

The two teams have played a strong brand of cricket in ODIs of late. India outsmarted England 3-0 at home. Pakistan won successive ODI series against Australia and South Africa. However, they lost to New Zealand in the ODI tri-series final earlier this month before going down once again in the Champions Trophy opener.

The last time India and Pakistan met in the Champions Trophy was back in 2017, meeting each other in the final. Pakistan thrashed India in that match to win the trophy. In terms of the head-to-head record, the two sides have met each other 135 times, as per ESPNcricinfo. Pakistan have the edge, winning 73 times, whereas, India have claimed a total of 57 wins. 5 matches have not had results.

Ahead of a crunch clash, we present to you the key records that can be scaled.

Rohit Sharma eyes this sixes record of Sachin Tendulkar

Legend Sachin Tendulkar owns the record for the most sixes by an Indian player versus Pakistan in ODIs. He smashed a total of 29 sixes in his glittering career. Current Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, who owns the 2nd-most sixes in ODIs, can break Tendulkar’s record on Sunday. Rohit has slammed a total of 26 sixes against Pakistan. If he slams 4 sixes, he can become the highest six-hitter among Indian players against Pakistan in ODIs. In this rivalry, Tendulkar is placed 4th in terms of sixes hit. Pakistan trio Shahid Afridi (51), Inzamam-ul-Haq (35) and Saeed Anwar (34) top the billing.

Rohit can equal former Indian legends with this feat versus PAK

Rohit has smashed 10 fifty-plus scores against Pakistan in ODIs. He has two hundreds and 8 fifties against them. If Rohit hits another fifty-plus score on Sunday, he will level the proceedings with Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni in terms of 11 fifty-plus scores each versus Pakistan. This will see Rohit become the joint fourth-highest player with most fifty-plus scores against Pakistan among Indians. Tendulkar (21), Rahul Dravid (16) and Yuvraj Singh (13) are ahead.

Rohit can scale 1000-run mark against Pakistan

Rohit is a big match and player and his 32 hundreds in ODIs are a testament to the fact. In the recently concluded ODI series against England, Rohit smoked a brilliant ton in the 2nd match. He will want to replicate his heroics now versus Pakistan. In 19 matches, Rohit has smashed 873 runs against Pakistan at 51.35. He is 127 runs shy of reaching the 1000-run milestone. If Rohit scales the 1000-run mark, he will become only the 8th Indian to do so. Tendulkar leads the list with a tally of 2526 runs. The likes of Dravid (1899), Azharuddin (1657), Ganguly (1652), Yuvraj (1360), MS Dhoni (1231) and Virender Sehwag (1071) followed suit.

Rohit can go past this record of MS Dhoni

Rohit owns 53 50-plus scores in ODIs on Asian soil. He is currently tied with Dhoni in this regard. Another half-century will see Rohit steer clear of MSD and become the 4th-highest Indian in terms of 50-plus scores in Asia. Tendulkar leads with 97 fifty-plus scores. Kohli (74) and Ganguly (55) follow suit ahead of Dhoni and Rohit (53 each).

Kohli can enter this six-hitting company among Indians in Asia

Virat Kohli loves facing Pakistan, and he is also due for a big score, having failed to convert starts of late. Kohli has slammed 96 ODI sixes in Asia, as per ESPNcricinfo. He needs 4 maximums to reach 100 sixes. With this, Kohli can become only the sixth Indian with 100-plus sixes in Asia. Rohit leads the list with 233 sixes. He is followed by MS Dhoni (150), Tendulkar (145), Ganguly (105) and Yuvraj (102).

Kohli can topple Dravid in ICC Champions Trophy

36-year-old Kohli is the 4th-highest scorer in the ICC Champions Trophy among Indian batters. He owns 551 runs at 78.71. Notably, Kohli can get past Dravid, who managed 627 runs at 48.23. Kohli needs another 77 runs to surpass Dravid and become India’s 3rd-highest scorer in the tournament’s history.