The Pakistan cricket team had an extended practice session on Friday where senior batter and former captain Babar Azam faced several bowlers ahead of the Champions Trophy match against India in Dubai on Sunday. Pakistan are in a do-or-die situation following their 60-run loss to New Zealand in the opening match in Karachi. The team practised for three hours at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium with all the batter, barring skipper Mohammad Rizwan, undergoing an extended 20-minute batting session.

Batting mainstay Babar Azam faced all the bowlers for a minimum of two overs each. The former skipper had scored a sedate 64 off 90 deliveries against New Zealand.

Pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, who will be expected to play a crucial role in the match against the arch-rivals, too bowled over seven overs each.

Pakistan’s interim coach Aaqib Javed and captain Rizwan had an extended meeting with the players, with the former doing most of the talking. 

Former captain Shahid Afridi believes India have more match-winners as compared to Pakistan ahead of the highly-anticipated Champions Trophy Group A clash that will take place at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Pakistan have beaten India in three of the five games in the previous Champions Trophy events. Their wins came in 2004 in the United Kingdom, 2009 in South Africa and in 2017 final at The Oval in London.

“If we talk about match-winners, I’d say that India has more match-winners compared to Pakistan. A match-winner is someone who knows how to win the game single-handedly. Right now, we don’t have such players in Pakistan. India’s strength lies in its middle and lower order, which has been winning them matches.”

“For a long time, we have been giving opportunities to players, but no one has stepped up consistently. Some have performed in a few games, but we don’t have players who have sustained their performance for a year, two years, or across 50-60 matches.”

“That’s where we are a little weaker compared to India, which is very strong in this area. But the key to winning against India is collective performance-whether it’s the batsmen, bowlers, or spinners-everyone’s contribution is crucial,” said Afridi on JioHotstar.

With ANI inputs