PAK vs IND: Top 3 bowlers to watch out for in Pakistan vs India Champions Trophy match 5

Dubai International Cricket Stadium is expected to be jam-packed as two archrivals play each other on Sunday. Any India vs. Pakistan encounter in cricket is seen as a huge game. The Champions Trophy game on Sunday will be the first time in over 15 months that the two sides will meet each other in ODI cricket. Their last encounter was in the T20 World Cup, which India won and went on to capture the title. 

Rohit Sharma and his men bowled well in the previous match against Bangladesh. Mohammed Shami marked his comeback to ICC tournaments with 5/53 from his ten overs. Harshit Rana, who was making his debut in the tournament, picked three wickets, while Axar Patel nearly picked a hat trick if it wasn’t for the dropped catch by India’s skipper. 

For the Pakistanis, there will be lots of points to ponder. Their three pacers, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf can trouble any batting unit on their day. Abrar Ahmed was the only bowler who seemed to have any measure of control in the previous match against New Zealand. Mohammad Rizwan knows that his team cannot slip up and his bowlers will have to do well against India. 

Here are the top 3 bowlers to watch out for in PAK vs IND match on Sunday

3- Naseem Shah

Pakistan seamer Naseem Shah has been winning fans over with his pace and swing with the new ball. Shah bowls with good speeds and has the ability to beat the batters and make the ball talk in the first ten overs. His battles against Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are expected to be the highlight of the game on Sunday. Naseem Shah has picked three wickets in two matches vs. India, with all three scalps coming in the Asia Cup 2023 match in Pallekele. 

2- Shaheen Shah Afridi

Return to Dubai will bring back fond memories for Pakistani left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi. It was at the same venue where he picked three key wickets, including Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, during the 2021 T20 World Cup match. The left-arm seamer also picked four wickets in the Asia Cup match at the Pallekele Stadium in 2023. Shaheen will be handful specially against Rohit Sharma who has had problems against left-arm pacers. 

1- Mohammed Shami 

In its current form, veteran seamer Mohammed Shami will pose a huge challenge to the under-fire Pakistani batting unit. Shami bowled with good rhythm in the game against Bangladesh to claim his sixth ODI fifer. The right-arm seamer has played just three matches against Pakistan in the ODI format and picked five wickets. His last appearance against the Men in Green came in 2015 in the ODI World Cup that year where he picked 4/35 at the Adelaide Oval.