Former cricketer Basit Ali believes that if Pakistan defeat India in their high-stakes ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match tomorrow, it will be an upset given the current form of both teams.
Basit Ali, while speaking on ARY News’ show Har Lamha Purjosh, assessed Pakistan’s current form and stated that India are overwhelming favorites heading into the contest.
“The way Pakistan is playing cricket, India has an 85 percent chance of winning, while Pakistan’s chances stand at only 15 percent,” Basit remarked.
“If Pakistan wins, it will be a big upset.”
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Echoing his sentiments, former wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal also acknowledged India’s dominance and stated that while an upset is possible, Pakistan will need to strike early with the ball to stand a chance.
“We can call it an upset because the Indian team is complete,” Akmal said. “The only chance for Pakistan to win is by taking early wickets with the new ball.”
Highlighting Pakistan’s weaknesses, Akmal pointed out their struggles in the middle overs and lack of bowling depth.
“We only have one spinner in the middle overs, we are not taking wickets with the new ball, and we are conceding too many runs in the death overs,” he added.
Going a step further, Akmal predicted that India have a 90 percent chance of winning, leaving Pakistan with just a 10 percent probability of pulling off a victory.
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It’s worth noting that Pakistan are looking to bounce back after a disappointing 60-run loss to New Zealand in their opening match in Karachi.
Meanwhile, India started their Champions Trophy campaign with a convincing win against Bangladesh as they comfortably chased a 229-run target against Bangladesh, thanks to a brilliant 101-run knock by Shubman Gill.
Historically, Pakistan has a slight edge over India in the Champions Trophy, winning three out of their five meetings.
Their last encounter in the tournament was the 2017 final, where Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side produced a dominant performance, thrashing India by 180 runs to lift their first-ever Champions Trophy title.
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