India and Pakistan, the reigning champions, will lock horns in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025’s highly-anticipated encounter on February 23 in Dubai.

Cricket fans’ excitement is reaching unprecedented heights for this match in the Champions Trophy, the ICC mega competition which is regarded as the “Mini World Cup”. In previous showdowns, Pakistan have maintained a lead over India, their arch-rivals, in the tournament.

The upcoming match will be the sixth encounter between Pakistan and India in the tourney, to be played at the Dubai International Stadium.

Pakistan and India have faced each other five times in the Champions Trophy, with Pakistan winning thrice and India emerging victorious twice.

Their first meeting in the tournament was on September 19, 2004, at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham, where Pakistan, under the captaincy of Inzamam-ul-Haq, defeated India by 3 wickets with just 4 balls remaining.

On September 26, 2009, at SuperSport Park in Centurion, Pakistan, led by Younis Khan, won by 54 runs, with all-rounder Shoaib Malik’s remarkable century of 128 runs playing a key role.

Their third encounter in the ICC Champions Trophy took place at Edgbaston in Birmingham on June 15, 2013.

In a rain-affected match, Pakistan, under Misbah-ul-Haq, batted first and was dismissed for just 165 runs. India, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, chased down the target in just 17 balls under the Duckworth-Lewis method, winning the match easily by 8 wickets.

In 2017, at Edgbaston, India defeated Pakistan by 124 runs in a group match. However, on June 18, 2017, in the final at The Oval (London), Pakistan, led by wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed, avenged their group-stage defeat by pouncing India by 180 runs to not only take revenge but also win the ICC Champions Trophy for the first time.