Champions Trophy 2025, IND vs PAK: Look back at 5 encounters between India and Pakistan in the marquee event

India and Pakistan are set to take on each other in the much-anticipated Champions Trophy 2025 clash at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, February 23.

Over the last several years, India and Pakistan’s encounters provided the fans unforgettable moments and thrilling clashes, and Champions Trophy is no exception. The two arch-rivals met only five times in the Champions Trophy, with Pakistan leading 3-2 in head to head record. Their first encounter was in 2004 and since then, they met four more times in the subsequent editions of the tournament.

As excitement around the Champions Trophy clash between India and Pakistan builds up, let’s take a look at five encounters between two arch-rivals in the history of the tournament.

1. 2004, Birmingham (England) 

The 2004 edition of the Champions Trophy was the first time India and Pakistan faced off against each other. At that time, there was a huge hype and excitement around the clash as two sides already became cricketing rivals. After putting to bat first by Pakistan, India were in a shambolic situation of 106/6 in 33.5 overs, thanks to fiery bowling by Shoaib Akhtar and Naved-ul-Hasan. 

Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar’s crucial contributions of 67 and 47, respectively, along with their 82-run partnership for the seventh wicket ensured that India put up a total 200 on the board. However, Dravid and Agarkar’s efforts went in vain as Pakistan chased down 201-run target 49.2 overs. Mohammad Yousuf played a brilliant match-winning unbeaten innings of 81 off 114 balls. This was the first defeat for India against Pakistan in an ICC tournament.

2. 2009, Centurion (South Africa) 

This was the second encounter between India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. They faced off against each other for the first time in 2 years since 2007 ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup. Pakistan opted to bat first against India and they rode on batting brilliance by Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf to post a respectable total of 302/9. Malik led the Men in Green’s innings with a brilliant knock of 128 off 126 balls, while Yousuf scored 87 off 88 balls. They formed a 206-run stand for the fourth wicket to lift Pakistan from 65/3 to 271/4. For India, Ashish Nehra led the bowling attack with four wickets.

Chasing a 303-run target, India were bundled out for 248 in 44.5 overs. Rahul Dravid (76) and Gautam Gambhir (57) scored half-centuries, while Suresh Raina tried to contribute with an innings of 46 off 41 balls. Their efforts eventually went in vain as they fell 54 runs short of achieving. The collective effort of Pakistan bowlers were on display as Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Amir, and Naved-ul-Hasan picked two wickets. This was the first time India lost to Pakistan in two consecutive matches in ICC tournaments.

3. 2013, Birmingham (England)

With an 0-2 head to head record against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, India, under the leadership of MS Dhoni, were determined to reduce the deficit. Two consecutive defeats in the previous editions of the tournament had added extra motivation for India to turn the tables around. Sending Pakistan to bat first after MS Dhoni won the toss, Indian bowlers did a fantastic job to bundle out their arch-rivals for 165 in 39.4 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s swing bowling troubled Pakistan batters as he registered figures 2/19 at an economy rate of 2.37 in 8 overs. Ishant Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja too picked two wickets each. 

With rain playing a spoilsport ahead of India’s batting, the target was revised to 102 in 22 overs. Riding on Shikhar Dhawan’s 48 and an unbeaten 24-run stand partnership between Virat Kohli (22) and Dinesh Karthik (11), India chased down the target in 19.1 overs. For Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal and Wahab Riaz picked a wicket. This was the first victory for India against India in the Champions Trophy.

4. 2017, Edgbaston (England)

This time India were led by Virat Kohli, but the aim of the team remained the same - defeating Pakistan. After winning for the first time against Pakistan in the previous edition of the tournament, the Men in Blue were looking to level the head to head record. Pakistan decided to bowl first after winning the toss, but their decision completely backfired as India posted a commendable total of 319/3. The opening 136-run partnership between Rohit Sharma (91) and Shikhar Dhawan (68) laid the foundation for a big total before Virat Kohli (81*) and Yuvraj Singh (53) accelerated innings with aggressive strokeplay. 

In response to a 320-run target, Pakistan seemed to have succumbed to pressure as they were bundled out for 164 in 33.4 overs. Azhar Ali was the top-scorer for the side with 50 off 65 balls, while Mohammad Hafeez scored 33 off 43 balls. For India, Umesh Yadav led the bowling attack with figures 3/30 at an economy rate of 4.05, while Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja picked two wickets each.

5. 2017 Final, The Oval (England)

After reaching a second consecutive final as defending champions of the Champions Trophy, India were indeed a clear favourite to win the coveted trophy again. However, the Men in Blue suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Pakistan. Captain Virat Kohli’s decision to bowl first completely backfired as Pakistan posted a total of 338/4 in 50 overs. Fakhar Zaman, who got reprieve after Jasprit Bumrah’s no-ball, played a brilliant innings of 114 off 106 balls, while Azhar Ali and Mohammad Hafeez scored 59 and 57, respectively. For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, and Kedar Jadhav picked a wicket each. 

In response to the 339-run target, Mohammad Amir rattled India’s top-order and reduced them to 33/3 in 9 overs. The Men in Blue  further collapsed to 54/5 in 13.3 overs. Hardik Pandya walked in to bat in a precarious situation and played a brilliant knock of 76 off 43 balls before an unfortunate mix-up that led to his run-out. His dismissal eventually ended India’s hopes of defending the title as they were bundled out for 158 in 30.3 overs and Pakistan won the final by 180 runs.